The Senate has resolved to suspend further action on the controversy surrounding the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) pending the outcome of an investigation by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
The decision followed a motion sponsored by Senator Suleiman Abdulrahman Kawu (Kano South), who raised concerns over the inclusion of the PFIPC in the 2026 Appropriation Act despite public statements from senior Presidency officials describing the agency as non-existent and unauthorised.
Presenting the motion, Kawu said the matter threatened the credibility of the Senate, the National Assembly and the Federal Government’s budget process. He noted that the PFIPC was listed under Budget Code 0111062001 with an allocation of N1.302 billion, comprising N802.98 million for personnel, N200 million for overhead and N300 million for capital expenditure.
The lawmaker called for a thorough investigation into the circumstances that led to the agency’s inclusion in the national budget, warning that failure to address the issue could further erode public confidence in the appropriation process.
He also urged the Senate to condemn any administrative lapses, internal collaboration or fraudulent activities that may have enabled the allocation and proposed that the Senate Committees on Ethics, Code of Conduct and Public Petitions, and Appropriations investigate the matter.
Responding, Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin said an immediate parliamentary probe was unnecessary, noting that President Bola Tinubu had already directed the ICPC to conduct a comprehensive investigation.
Barau said the Senate should await the outcome of the anti-corruption agency’s findings before deciding on any legislative action.
“The Presidency has directed the ICPC to investigate fully how this matter came to be. I believe we should wait for the report and then act appropriately,” he said.
The Senate subsequently adopted the proposal to await the ICPC’s report before taking further action on the PFIPC controversy.
President Tinubu had on Tuesday ordered the ICPC to investigate the activities of the PFIPC and all issues surrounding its inclusion in the 2026 budget, directing the commission to submit its report within 30 days.
