The Senate has once again rejected a fresh attempt by Senator Kawu Sumaila to launch an investigation into the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), citing ongoing court proceedings and an executive probe into the matter.
Senator Sumaila, who represents Kano South, sought the Senate’s approval to investigate the agency’s legal status, operations, establishment and the controversial budget allocation it reportedly received in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
The lawmaker argued that the investigation was necessary to protect the integrity of the National Assembly and the federal budget process, questioning how an agency reportedly described as non-existent was allocated more than ₦1.3 billion in the approved budget.
Meanwhile, former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, accused the Tinubu administration of attempting to influence public perception of the controversy by shielding government officials from scrutiny while allegedly shifting attention toward opposition figures.
Atiku expressed concern over the arrest of Adeniyi Adeyemi, who presented himself as the Director-General of the PFIPC, suggesting that the investigation should focus on uncovering the full circumstances surrounding the agency rather than limiting attention to one individual.
He questioned how the alleged agency was able to secure office accommodation, diplomatic recognition, recruit hundreds of personnel and receive budgetary allocations if it was not officially recognised by the government.
The former vice president also criticised a reported ₦6.44 billion allocation for a Special Presidential Support Group for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, noting that Nigeria had already been eliminated from the qualification race before the 2026 budget was presented.
According to Atiku, the allocation raises serious concerns about transparency in the budgeting process and reinforces public doubts over the credibility of certain budget provisions.
He maintained that the current investigation ordered by President Bola Tinubu would not inspire public confidence and called on the National Assembly to establish an independent bipartisan panel to investigate every aspect of the PFIPC controversy.
Atiku also urged the Nigerian Bar Association, civil society organisations and the diplomatic community to support calls for a transparent and impartial investigation.
During plenary, Senator Sumaila reiterated that although senior government officials had dismissed the PFIPC as a fictitious organisation, it still appeared in the 2026 Appropriation Act with a budget allocation exceeding ₦1.3 billion for personnel, overhead and capital expenditure.
He argued that while anti-corruption agencies could investigate possible criminal offences, the National Assembly had a constitutional responsibility to examine how such an allocation passed through the legislative appropriation process.
However, Senate President Godswill Akpabio ruled that the matter could not be debated because related cases were already before the courts and an executive investigation had commenced.
Akpabio explained that proceeding with a Senate investigation at this stage could interfere with ongoing judicial proceedings and the executive probe. He therefore directed that consideration of the motion be suspended pending the outcome of both investigations.
