The Senate has resolved to defer action on the controversy surrounding the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) until the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) concludes its investigation.
The decision followed a motion sponsored by Senator Suleiman Abdulrahman Kawu (Kano South), who called for an urgent investigation into the budgetary allocation, operations and controversy surrounding the purported PFIPC to protect the integrity of the Senate and the Federal Government.
Presenting the motion under Order 9, Rule 9(c) of the Senate Standing Orders 2026, Kawu described the issue as a serious institutional concern capable of undermining the credibility of the Senate, the National Assembly and Nigeria’s budget process.
He noted that despite public declarations by senior Presidency officials that the PFIPC was fake, fictitious and unauthorised, the entity was listed in the 2026 Appropriation Act under Budget Code 0111062001 with a budgetary allocation of ₦1.302 billion.
According to the lawmaker, the allocation comprised ₦802.98 million for personnel costs, ₦200 million for overhead expenses and ₦300 million for capital expenditure, raising questions about the integrity of the budget preparation and appropriation process.
Kawu warned that unless the circumstances surrounding the inclusion of the PFIPC in the national budget were thoroughly investigated, public confidence in the budgetary process and the National Assembly’s oversight role would continue to decline.
He urged the Senate to condemn what he described as administrative failures, internal collaboration or possible fraudulent practices that allowed a purportedly non-existent agency to appear in the national budget. He also proposed that the Senate Committees on Ethics, Code of Conduct and Public Petitions, and Appropriations be mandated to conduct a comprehensive investigation.
Responding, Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin, advised against an immediate parliamentary probe, noting that President Bola Tinubu had already directed the ICPC to investigate the matter.
Barau said the motion could have been presented as a substantive matter through the Senate Committee on Rules and Business but argued that the Presidency had already initiated the appropriate investigative process.
“The Presidency has taken up this matter by directing that the ICPC should investigate fully how this matter came to be. The marching order has been given and I think the ICPC has started.
“To me, 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,” he said.
Following deliberations, the Senate adopted the recommendation to await the outcome of the ICPC investigation before deciding on any further legislative action.
On Tuesday, President Tinubu directed the ICPC to carry out a comprehensive investigation into the activities of the PFIPC and all issues connected to the controversy, ordering the anti-corruption agency to conclude its probe and submit a detailed report within 30 days.
