The Senate on Wednesday declined a motion to investigate the inclusion of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
The Senate, however, resolved to await the outcome of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) investigation on the matter.
The Senate resolution followed a motion sponsored by Sen.Kawu Sumaila (APC-Kano) to investigate how the agency received a budgetary allocation of N1.3 billion in the 2026 budget.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Sumaila, who raised the motion under urgent matter of national importance, had begun to present his motion when Deputy President of the Senate Sen.Barau Jibrin (APC-Kano), who was presiding over plenary, interrupted him.
Barau said the matter ought to have come before the Senate as a substantive motion.
Presenting his argument, Sumaila said the controversy surrounding the PFIPC had cast doubts on the integrity of the budget process.
He said despite the executive’s public disowning of the agency, it had an allocation of N1.3 billion under budget code 0111062001 in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
“Senate notes that notwithstanding the executive’s public disapproval of this agency, the entirety was incorporated in the 2026 Appropriation Act under Code 0111062001 with a budgetary allocation of N1.3 billion,” he said.
He said this raises a serious question regarding the integrity of the budget preparation and appropriation process.
According to him, the allocation comprised more than N800 million for personnel costs, over N200 million for overheads and more than N300 million for capital expenditure.
Sumaila said the inclusion of a purportedly non-existent agency in the national budget undermined public confidence in the appropriation process and exposed weaknesses in legislative scrutiny.
He urged the Senate to mandate its committees on ethics, code of conduct and public petitions, and appropriations to investigate how the allocation was proposed, scrutinised, justified and approved.
He also sought an inquiry into whether any funds had been released, committed or spent under the budget line and whether any bank account had been opened or operated in connection with the allocation.
Responding, Barau said the presidency had already directed the ICPC to investigate the matter and that the anti-graft agency had commenced its work.
He said the Senate would wait for the outcome of the ICPC investigation before deciding on any further action.
“As I said earlier, the presidency has taken up this matter by directing that the ICPC should investigate fully how this matter came to be.
“And I think ICPC has started. I believe that what we need to do at this stage is to have the report of the ICPC, and then we can act on that report and deal with it as we feel appropriate,” Barau said.
