By Deborah Nnamdi
The Senate on Wednesday declined to initiate a comprehensive investigation into the budgetary allocation, operations and controversy surrounding the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), opting instead to await the outcome of an investigation already ordered by President Bola Tinubu.
The proposal for a legislative probe was raised by Senator Suleiman Kawu (APC, Kano South) during plenary through a motion titled, “Urgent Need to Investigate the Budgetary Allocation, Operations, and Controversy Surrounding the Purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) to Safeguard the Integrity of the Senate and the Federal Government.”
Citing the Senate Standing Orders, Kawu argued that the controversy surrounding the council posed a threat to the integrity of the Senate, the credibility of the National Assembly and the legislature’s constitutional powers over appropriation and oversight.
He expressed concern over allegations and counter-allegations relating to the PFIPC, describing the matter as one that required urgent legislative attention.
The senator urged the Senate to condemn what he described as administrative lapses, internal collaboration or fraudulent schemes that allegedly led to the inclusion of a purportedly unauthorised entity under Budget Code 0111062001 in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
Kawu also sought a mandate for the Senate Committees on Ethics, Code of Conduct and Public Petitions, as well as Appropriations, to investigate how the sum of ₦1.302 billion was proposed, scrutinised, justified and approved for the council in the 2026 budget.
He further requested that the committees determine the ministries, departments, agencies and public officials involved in facilitating the inclusion of the PFIPC in the national budget and ascertain whether any funds had been released, committed or spent under the budget line, including whether any bank account had been opened or operated in connection with the allocation.
However, Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin, who presided over the session, ruled that the matter should not be debated, noting that the Executive had already taken action.
Jibrin informed lawmakers that President Bola Tinubu had directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the controversy and urged the Senate to allow the Executive to conclude its inquiry before taking further action.
