The Senate Wednesday rejected an urgent motion which sought for condemnation and investigation of controversy surrounding the existence or otherwise of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) to which the National Assembly appropriated N1.3 billion for in the 2026 budget.
Senator Sumaila Kawu (Kano South) had at commencement of plenary, moved a motion on privileges through Order 9 and 9C of the Senate Rules, to draw attention of senators to the controversy, which he said, affects the integrity of the National Assembly.
Kawu in the motion said the inclusion of a purportedly non-existent or unauthorised entity in the national budget, undermines the credibility of the appropriation process, exposes weaknesses in institutional budgetary scrutiny, erodes public confidence in the National Assembly, and subjects the federal government to avoidable domestic and international criticism, regarding transparency, accountability and fiscal governance.
He posted that unless the circumstances surrounding the inclusion of the PFIPC in the 2026 Appropriation Act are thoroughly investigated, the public confidence in the integrity of the budgetary process and the oversight functions of the National Assembly may be significantly diminished and prayed the Senate to:
(i) Condemn in the strongest terms the administrative lapses, internal collaborations, or fraudulent schemes that enabled a purportedly nonexistent or unauthorised entity under Budget Code: 0111062001 to be incorporated into the 2026 Appropriation Act
(ii) Direct the Committees on Ethics, Code of Conduct & Public Petitions; and Appropriations, to conduct a comprehensive investigation surrounding the inclusion of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) in the 2026 Appropriation Act, with a view to determining (a) the process through which the sum of N1,302,978,784 was proposed, scrutinized, justified and approved during the appropriation process;
(b) the Ministries, Departments and Agencies as well as the public officials or other persons, responsible for facilitating the
recognition and inclusion of the PFIPC in the national budget; and
(c) whether any funds have been released, committed or expended under the budgetary allocation, including whether any bank account has been established or operated within the budget line.
However, the Senate led by its Deputy President, Barau Jibrin who presided, refused to put the prayers for voice votes by senators on the ground that as directed by President Bola Tinubu, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission ( ICPC) is already investigating the issue.