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PFIPC scandal: Senate rejects motion for full investigation

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3 weeks ago

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The Senate has declined to open a full investigation into the budget allocation and operations of the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), amid mounting public scrutiny over the agency’s legitimacy.

Senator Suleiman Kawu (APC, Kano South) raised the motion during Wednesday’s plenary, invoking Order 9 and Rule 9(c) of the Senate’s 2026 Standing Orders. Titled “Urgent Need to Investigate the Budgetary Allocation, Operations, and Controversy surrounding the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) to safeguard the Integrity of the Senate and the Federal Government,” the motion argued that the PFIPC controversy threatens the Senate’s credibility and its constitutional oversight powers.

Kawu noted that public discourse in recent weeks has been dominated by allegations and counter-allegations surrounding the agency. He called on the Senate to condemn the administrative failures or fraudulent conduct that allowed a reportedly nonexistent or unauthorised body — tied to Budget Code 0111062001 — to be written into the 2026 Appropriation Act.

He also urged that the Committees on Ethics, Code of Conduct & Public Petitions, and Appropriations be directed to jointly investigate how N1,302,978,784 was proposed, vetted, and approved for the PFIPC; which officials or agencies enabled its inclusion in the budget; and whether any of the funds have been released, committed, or spent — including whether a bank account was opened under that budget line.

Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin (APC, Kano North), who presided over the session, halted debate on the motion, citing the Executive’s ongoing handling of the matter. He said President Bola Tinubu has already directed the ICPC to investigate, and asked the Senate to await the outcome before proceeding.

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