Lawmakers at the Senate
Senate has decided to hold off on any action over 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 resolution followed a motion by Senator Suleiman Abdulrahman Kawu, who raised concerns over the inclusion of the PFIPC in the 2026 Appropriation Act despite claims by Presidency officials that the agency does not exist.
Kawu told the Senate that the agency was allocated ₦1.302 billion under Budget Code 0111062001, including funds for personnel, overhead and capital projects, describing the development as a threat to the credibility of the National Assembly and the federal budget process.
He urged lawmakers to investigate how a reportedly unauthorised agency made its way into the national budget and warned that public confidence could be damaged if the matter was ignored.
The senator also called for the Senate Committees on Ethics, Code of Conduct and Public Petitions, as well as Appropriations, to conduct a detailed investigation into the issue.
Responding, Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin, advised against an immediate parliamentary inquiry, noting that President Bola Tinubu had already directed the ICPC to investigate the matter.
“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,” Barau said.
The Senate thereafter agreed to wait for the ICPC’s findings before deciding on any further legislative action, while President Tinubu has directed the anti-corruption agency to complete its investigation and submit a report within 30 days.
