The Senate on Tuesday distanced itself from the controversy surrounding the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), declaring that it has no petition before it and therefore no basis to investigate or intervene in the dispute.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Yemi Adaramodu, said the controversy remains an executive matter until a formal complaint is brought before the National Assembly.
Speaking with journalists after plenary, Adaramodu stressed that the Senate cannot act on media reports or allegations circulating in the public domain.
“The Senate has no petition before it on the matter. The allegations and counter-allegations over the alleged fake agency and fake Director-General are issues within the executive arm of government and should be resolved there,” he said.
The controversy centres on self-acclaimed PFIPC Director-General, Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew, who has been locked in a public dispute with the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila.
While the Presidency has maintained that the PFIPC is not a recognised government agency, Adeyemi has insisted the council is legitimate. He further alleged that Gbajabiamila collected N400 million from him to facilitate his appointment and later demanded 48 per cent of the N1.3 billion allegedly appropriated to the council in the 2026 budget. The allegations have been denied by the Presidency.
Adaramodu acknowledged reports that the PFIPC has a budget line in the 2026 Appropriation Act but maintained that the National Assembly neither established the agency nor inserted it into the budget.
“The budget line being referred to was not created or inserted by the National Assembly. It is also not the responsibility of the Senate or the House of Representatives to conduct security or background checks on those appointed to head Ministries, Departments and Agencies,” he said.
He explained that the Senate would only have been directly involved if the office in question required legislative confirmation.
According to him, the matter has also become the subject of litigation, making it inappropriate for the upper chamber to make further comments in line with parliamentary convention on cases before the courts.
However, he said the Senate would not hesitate to examine the issue if a formal petition is submitted.
“If any of the feuding parties or any concerned Nigerian forwards a petition to the Senate on the existence or non-existence of the agency or its Director-General, the matter will be considered through the appropriate legislative process,” he said.