Again, Senate rejects motion to probe ₦1.3bn allocation to fake agency in 2026 budget

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The Senate on Wednesday again rejected a motion seeking to investigate how ₦1.3 billion was appropriated for the non-existent Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) in the 2026 budget.

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The upper chamber reached a resolution after a majority of the senators voted against it through voice votes during the plenary.

The motion, sponsored by the senator representing Kano South Senatorial District, Kawu Sumaila, was suspended because the matter is already before a court and that the Presidency has initiated an investigation into the controversy.

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, said that any parliamentary probe at this stage could amount to interference in a matter already the subject of judicial proceedings.

“The fake agency has been making rounds. Unfortunately, the issue has been overtaken by events. The culprit has been charged in court so that it will become sub judice. The president has set up a high-powered committee to investigate the subject matter from the formation of the fake agency all the way to budgetary and offices, and opening of accounts and all that. So, that is also being done.

“If we go into it now, we will probably be jumping the gun because the prosecution is ongoing,” he said.

This is the second time the Senate has rejected calls to investigate the circumstances surrounding the controversial allocation.

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The first time it was rejected, the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, who presided over the session, ruled against it because President Bola Tinubu had already directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the matter.

However, the sponsor of the motion, Mr Sumaila, argued that the Senate should not distance itself from the controversy since it approved the budget in which the allocation was made.

While Senate rules, particularly Order 47, discourage debates on matters already before the courts, the legislature retains oversight powers and can conduct investigations independent of the executive and judiciary, provided such inquiries do not prejudice ongoing judicial proceedings.

Adeniyi Adeyemi, the man accused of forging government appointment letters and parading himself as the director-general of a fake agency, has been arrested by the police following a court order.

The police had arraigned Mr Adeyemi and two others before the Federal High Court on an eight-count charge. The case, filed on 27 November 2025, is scheduled for hearing on 27 July. However, Mr Adeyemi had remained in hiding since he was declared wanted.

The Senate spokesperson, Yemi Adaramodu, recently defended the National Assembly’s role in the agency’s budgetary allocation, insisting that the ₦1.3 billion was neither recommended nor inserted by lawmakers.

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Mr Adaramodu, who represents Ekiti South Senatorial District, said lawmakers are not constitutionally responsible for conducting security checks on individuals appointed to head government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), and therefore cannot be held responsible for the controversy.

He maintained that the National Assembly would not intervene in the controversy because the matter is already before the court.

The House of Representatives is currently investigating the matter.