The Senate on Wednesday rejected a motion seeking a full investigation into the controversial N1.3 billion allocation to the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), even as the scandal continued to deepen with fresh documents linking the disowned body’s director-general to a federal government-approved foreign trip.
Senate declines probe of PFIPC
Senator Suleiman Kawu (APC, Kano South) had moved to compel Senate committees to investigate the budgetary inclusion of the PFIPC, its operations and the process that led to the approval of N1,302,978,784 in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
Kawu argued that the matter had raised grave concerns about administrative lapses, possible fraud and the credibility of the legislature’s appropriation role.
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But Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin stepped in to halt further debate, insisting the Executive was already dealing with the matter after President Bola Tinubu directed the ICPC to investigate.
New document trail
The controversy gathered fresh momentum after Vanguard reported that the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation had approved Adeniyi Adeyemi, the disowned PFIPC DG, to attend the Canada-Africa Fintech Summit in August 2025.
The letter, signed by Engr. Nadungu Gagare on behalf of the SGF, described Adeyemi’s participation as part of efforts to advance Nigeria’s economic strategy and strengthen ties with stakeholders in Canada.
The development has intensified questions about how a body the Presidency now describes as non-existent could have featured in official correspondence, secured a budget line and become the centre of a widening accountability storm.
Opposition leaders, including Atiku Abubakar and the PDP, have called for independent investigations, while SERAP has demanded disclosure of all documents relating to the allocation and the legislative approval process.
