The Senate has rejected a motion seeking an immediate investigation into the controversy surrounding the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, for which N1.3 billion was appropriated in the 2026 budget.
Senator Suleiman Kawu, Kano South, had raised the matter as a point of privilege under Order 9 and 9C of the Senate rules, arguing that the inclusion of a purportedly non-existent entity in the budget undermines the credibility of the appropriation process.
Kawu said the development erodes public confidence in the National Assembly and exposes weaknesses in budgetary scrutiny, praying the Senate to condemn the lapse and direct its Committees on Ethics and Appropriations to investigate how the N1,302,978,784 allocation under Budget Code 0111062001 was proposed and approved.
The motion also sought to determine the MDAs and officials responsible for facilitating the inclusion of PFIPC in the budget, and whether any funds had been released or accounts opened under the budget line.
However, Deputy President of the Senate, Barau Jibrin, who presided over plenary as at the time the motion was raised, declined to put the prayers to a voice vote, arguing that President Bola Tinubu had directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to investigate the matter, and that the Senate would await the ICPC report before taking action.
“Senator Kawu, you have tabled your motion and the Senate has noted it. But since the issue is being critically investigated by ICPC as directed by President Tinubu, the Senate will await the report before taking any action,” Jibrin said.
Speaking to journalists after plenary, Kawu said although his prayers were not taken, he was satisfied the motion was heard. He explained that he invoked Order 9 and 9C to prevent the leadership from stopping debate on an issue central to the National Assembly’s constitutional role in budget appropriation.
“The controversial agency has Budget Code 0111062001 with an allocation of N1.3 billion in the 2026 Appropriation Act passed by the National Assembly. It requires investigation to unravel those who facilitated or inserted it into the budget,” he said.
Kawu insisted that the National Assembly must conduct its own investigation into how the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council was included in the 2026 budget with an allocation of N1.3 billion.
He said his concern was not about the creation of the agency but about “who legalized the inclusion or who facilitated the inclusion of that agency in the national budget”, stressing that the Constitution gives the National Assembly powers to “add, subtract, hold, change, to tamper with the budget.”
“My main concern is the budget. Mr. President can create an agency without the approval of the National Assembly. Constitutionally, he is empowered to do so. But when it comes to budget, we are the custodian. Whether you like it or not, we are empowered by the Constitution. So, who is responsible in the National Assembly? Who facilitated the inclusion of that subhead?”
The Senator noted that the budgetary process starts from MDAs to the Budget Office, then to FEC and finally to the National Assembly. He argued that if the PFIPC did not originate from the Executive proposal, then someone within the National Assembly must be responsible.
“The procedure is that agencies will prepare their budget, send it to Budget Office. Budget Office puts it together, it goes to FEC, then it is laid before the National Assembly. Therefore, any inclusion is an Executive proposal. But the Constitution also allowed us to compose a budget. We can add. We can subtract,” he said.
Kawu said he chose to move under privilege because “privilege has power. Nobody can stop you.” According to him, while the Senate approved the first part of his prayer to raise the matter, it rejected the second part which called for immediate debate.
“They approved the first order, but disapproved the second letter of the prayer. It is a game of numbers,” he said.
On whether he was satisfied that the Senate is waiting for the ICPC directed by President Bola Tinubu to investigate the PFIPC saga, Kawu said: “Definitely no. I think we have the right to constitute our independent investigation Committee.”
The PFIPC controversy broke out after Presidency officials described the Council as “fake” and “unauthorised” and directed security agencies to arrest those parading as its officials.
