PFIPC scandal: Senate rejects calls for fresh probe into N1.3bn budget allocation

The Nigerian Senate has decided against initiating a fresh investigation into the controversial N1.3 billion budgetary allocation for the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC). The upper chamber stated it would defer to the ongoing probe by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), which was ordered by President Bola Tinubu.

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I rise today under Order 9 and Rule 9(c) of the Senate Standing Orders, 2026, to draw the attention of this Hallowed Chamber to a matter of grave institutional concern.

This decision came after Senator Kawu Sumaila, representing Kano South, raised a point of order urging the Senate to investigate how an agency disowned by the Presidency secured such a substantial allocation in the 2026 Appropriation Act. Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, presiding over the plenary, interrupted Sumaila, suggesting the matter should be presented as a substantive motion.

Sumaila argued that the PFIPC controversy raises serious concerns about the integrity of Nigeria's budget process. He noted that despite the executive branch publicly disavowing the agency, it was allocated N1,302,978,000 under budget code 0111062001 in the 2026 Appropriation Act. "The issues raised directly affect the integrity of the Senate, the credibility of the National Assembly and the effective exercise of our constitutional oversight and appropriation responsibilities," he stated.

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The issues raised directly affect the integrity of the Senate, the credibility of the National Assembly and the effective exercise of our constitutional oversight and appropriation responsibilities.

The allocation reportedly included over N800 million for personnel costs, more than N200 million for overheads, and over N300 million for capital expenditure. Sumaila contended that including a non-existent agency in the national budget undermines public confidence and exposes weaknesses in legislative scrutiny. He proposed that the Senate mandate its Committees on Ethics, Code of Conduct and Public Petitions, and Appropriations to investigate the allocation's proposal, scrutiny, justification, and approval, as well as any funds released or spent. However, the Senate leadership opposed this, citing the existing anti-graft investigation.

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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 N1,302,978,000, thereby raising a serious question regarding the integrity of the budget preparation and appropriation process.