THE Senate has resolved to await the outcome of the investigation by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) before taking further action on the controversy surrounding the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) and its inclusion in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
News Point Nigeria reports that 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 circumstances surrounding the purported PFIPC in order 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 matter as a serious institutional concern, warning that the controversy poses a threat to the credibility of the Senate, the National Assembly and the nation’s budgetary process.
The lawmaker noted that despite public statements by senior officials of the Presidency describing the PFIPC as fake, fictitious and unauthorised, the entity was captured in the 2026 Appropriation Act under Budget Code 0111062001 with a total allocation of N1.302 billion.
According to Kawu, the allocation consisted of N802.98 million for personnel costs, N200 million for overhead expenses and N300 million for capital expenditure, a development he said raised serious questions about the integrity of the budget preparation and appropriation process.
He argued that unless the circumstances surrounding the inclusion of the PFIPC in the national budget were thoroughly investigated, public confidence in the budget process and the oversight responsibilities of the National Assembly would continue to suffer.
Kawu urged the Senate to condemn what he described as possible administrative lapses, internal collaboration or fraudulent activities that allowed a purportedly non-existent agency to appear in the national budget.
The senator also proposed that the Senate Committees on Ethics, Code of Conduct and Public Petitions, as well as Appropriations, should be mandated to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the controversy.
However, responding to the motion, Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Jibrin Barau, advised against an immediate parliamentary investigation, pointing out that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had already directed the ICPC to conduct a full probe into the matter.
Barau explained that the issue could have been brought before the Senate through a substantive motion and referred to the appropriate committee, but noted that the Presidency had already activated an 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 the debate, the Senate adopted the position to await the ICPC findings before deciding on any further legislative action concerning the PFIPC controversy.
The development came a day after President Tinubu ordered the ICPC to commence a comprehensive investigation into the activities of the PFIPC and all related matters surrounding the disputed agency.
The President directed that the investigation should be concluded and a detailed report submitted to him within 30 days.
The Presidency had earlier maintained that the PFIPC was never established by the Federal Government and had no legal foundation, presidential approval or official mandate.