The Senate on Wednesday again declined Senator Kawu Sumaila’s bid to investigate the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), an alleged agency listed in the 2026 Appropriation Act with a budget of over ₦1.3 billion despite claims by the Presidency that it does not exist.
The upper chamber ruled that the matter was already before the courts and under investigation by a presidential committee, making further parliamentary action premature.
Raising the issue under the Senate Standing Orders on the appropriation process, Sumaila, who represents Kano South Senatorial District, sought a probe into the establishment, legal status, budgetary allocation and operations of the PFIPC.
He argued that the investigation was necessary to protect the integrity of the Senate, the National Assembly’s appropriation process and the Federal Government’s accountability framework.
According to the lawmaker, the alleged agency appears in the 2026 budget under Budget Code 0111062001 with a total allocation of ₦1,302,978,784, comprising ₦802.98 million for personnel costs, ₦200 million for overhead and ₦300 million for capital expenditure.
Sumaila questioned how an agency publicly described by top Presidency officials as fictitious and unauthorized could have passed through the executive budget preparation process, legislative scrutiny and presidential assent before receiving both a budget code and funding.
While acknowledging that anti-corruption agencies could investigate any criminal dimensions of the controversy, he maintained that only the National Assembly had the constitutional responsibility to examine whether its appropriation and oversight processes had been compromised.
“The issues raised directly affect the integrity of the Senate, the credibility of the National Assembly and the effective exercise of our constitutional oversight and appropriation responsibilities,” he told lawmakers.
However, Senate President Godswill Akpabio ruled that subsequent developments had overtaken the motion.
He informed the chamber that individuals linked to the controversy had already been arraigned before a court, making aspects of the matter sub judice.
Akpabio also disclosed that President Bola Tinubu had constituted a high-level committee to investigate the alleged agency, including its creation, budgetary allocation, bank accounts, office operations and other related activities.
“Given these ongoing processes, if the Senate proceeds with its own investigation now, we may be jumping the gun and potentially prejudicing the judicial process, especially as prosecution is already underway,” Akpabio said.
He consequently advised that consideration of the motion be suspended pending the conclusion of both the court proceedings and the executive investigation.
Before the matter was brought to a close, Sumaila attempted to raise additional issues but only succeeded in drawing attention to malfunctioning microphones in the Senate chamber before proceedings moved on.
The decision marks the second time the Senate has halted efforts by the Kano lawmaker to initiate a parliamentary probe into the alleged ghost agency.
Despite the ruling, the central question raised by Sumaila remains unanswered: how an agency publicly disowned by the Presidency successfully navigated the executive budget process, legislative approval and presidential assent to secure an allocation of more than ₦1.3 billion in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
Senator KawuSumaila
