The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker Tajudeen Abbas to release certified documents showing how the National Assembly approved over ₦1.3 billion (₦1,302,978,784) for the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC)/Presidential Economic Advisory Council in the 2026 Appropriation Act — a body the Presidency itself says does not exist.
In a Freedom of Information request dated July 4, 2026, and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation asked lawmakers to invoke their constitutional powers under sections 88 and 89 to investigate how the allocation made it into the budget, and to name anyone responsible for any irregularities.
SERAP also demanded records identifying which National Assembly committees reviewed the allocation, and the names of officials who appeared before them to defend it. It further asked whether the funding line originated from the Executive’s original budget proposal or was inserted during legislative amendments, and whether any lawmaker questioned the council’s legal status before approval.
The controversy stems from a July 1 statement in which the Presidency flatly denied that the PFIPC/Presidential Economic Advisory Council was ever established by the Federal Government, despite the sizeable allocation appearing in the approved budget.
SERAP argued that the National Assembly’s role goes beyond rubber-stamping Executive spending requests, insisting lawmakers are constitutionally required to scrutinise and debate budget proposals before authorising them. The group warned that if it does not receive a response within seven days, it will pursue legal action to compel compliance, framing the matter as a test of Nigeria’s appropriations integrity, arguing citizens have a right to know how public funds were allocated to an entity that, by the Presidency’s own admission, doesn’t exist.
READ ALSO:
- NDLEA Nabs 67-Year-Old UK-Based Grandma With 13kg Cocaine Hidden In Fake Plantains
- FCMB Records N177.3bn Profit, Shareholders Approve N23bn Dividend
- Tinubu Reaffirms Commitment to Religious Harmony, Says He Looks Forward to Hosting Pope Leo XIV
- SERAP demands Akpabio, Abbas explain ₦1.3bn budgeted for ‘fictitious’ council
- PFIPC Scandal Deepens as Presidency Alleges Insider Collusion, Orders DSS, Police, EFCC Probe
