The Senate on Wednesday rejected a motion seeking a comprehensive investigation into the controversial N1.3 billion budget allocation linked to the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).
The motion, sponsored by Senator Suleiman Kawu (APC, Kano South), called for an inquiry into the council's inclusion in the 2026 Appropriation Act, its operations, and the process through which the allocation was approved.
Raising the matter under the Senate Standing Orders, Kawu argued that the controversy surrounding the PFIPC had raised concerns about the integrity of the National Assembly's appropriation process and its constitutional oversight responsibilities.
He urged the Senate to condemn what he described as administrative failures or possible fraudulent actions that led to the inclusion of what he alleged was an unauthorised entity under Budget Code 0111062001 in the 2026 budget.
The senator also proposed that the Senate Committees on Ethics, Code of Conduct and Public Petitions, and Appropriations investigate the circumstances surrounding the allocation of **N1,302,978,784** to the council.
According to the motion, the proposed investigation would have examined how the allocation was proposed, scrutinised and approved, identified the ministries, departments, agencies and officials involved in its inclusion, and determined whether any funds had been released, committed or spent under the budget line.
However, Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, who presided over plenary, declined to entertain the motion, saying the Executive had already initiated action on the matter.
Jibrin informed lawmakers that President Bola Tinubu had directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the controversy. He advised the Senate to allow the Executive's investigation to proceed rather than open a separate parliamentary probe.
The decision effectively halted efforts to launch a Senate investigation into the disputed budget allocation.
