The Senate has, for the second time, rejected a request to independently investigate how the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council secured a ₦1.3 billion allocation in the 2026 Appropriation Act despite the Presidency’s insistence that the agency does not exist.
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Senator Suleiman Abdulrahman Kawu, representing Kano South Senatorial District, renewed the request during plenary on Wednesday, arguing that the National Assembly had a constitutional responsibility to determine how the controversial provision passed through its appropriation process.
Kawu had made a similar attempt the previous week, but the Senate declined to commence an investigation and resolved to await the outcome of the probe ordered by President Bola Tinubu.
Ruling on the renewed request, Senate President Godswill Akpabio said the controversy had been overtaken by events because the person at the centre of the purported agency was already facing criminal charges.
Akpabio maintained that the National Assembly should avoid investigating issues directly connected to a case pending before a court of competent jurisdiction.
“In my view, the issue has been overtaken by events, as the culprit has been charged to court,” Akpabio said.
“It is now sub judice to attempt to go into it again. Mr President has already directed an investigation.
“If we go into it now, we will probably be jumping the gun.”
The Senate President also referred to Tinubu’s directive that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission investigate the purported agency and submit its findings within 30 days.
He consequently ruled that another Senate investigation was unnecessary at the present stage.
Kawu disagreed with the position that the presidentially ordered ICPC investigation was sufficient.
He argued that the executive arm could not perform the constitutional oversight responsibilities assigned to the National Assembly.
“I commend Mr President. But he can’t do our work. We, as the National Assembly, are supposed to conduct our own investigation. My concern is about the budget,” he said.
“Who came to the National Assembly to defend the agency?”
The lawmaker stressed that his concern was not limited to whether the purported council legally existed.
According to him, the Senate must protect the integrity of the appropriation process by establishing who presented, scrutinised and approved the ₦1.3 billion allocation.
He also sought clarification on whether officials of the purported agency appeared before any National Assembly committee to defend the budgetary provision.
Kawu attempted to raise the matter again under Matters of Urgent Public Importance, but the Senate maintained its earlier position and declined to entertain the motion.
The controversy concerns the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, which was allocated approximately ₦1.303 billion under Budget Code 0111062001 in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
The allocation reportedly covered recurrent and capital expenditure.
The Presidency has repeatedly maintained that the council has no legal existence and that President Tinubu never established it or appointed anyone to lead it.
The presence of the purported agency in the national budget has consequently raised questions about the scrutiny applied during the preparation, defence and passage of the Appropriation Act.
Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, who reportedly presented himself as Director-General of the council, was arrested and charged alongside two other defendants.
The police filed eight counts bordering on alleged forgery, impersonation and related offences in charge number FHC/ABJ/CR/562/2025 before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Prosecutors alleged that Adeyemi used forged government documents, including a purported presidential appointment letter, to give the council the appearance of a legitimate federal agency.
Documents listed by the prosecution include a petition from the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila; the alleged appointment letter; requests for government recognition; and documents relating to attempts to open accounts and obtain office accommodation.
The criminal case is expected to continue before the Federal High Court on July 27, 2026. Adeyemi is presumed innocent unless and until convicted by a competent court.
Adeyemi has also alleged that Gbajabiamila demanded a ₦400 million bribe and sought a 48 per cent interest in the council’s proposed ₦27.4 billion take-off grant.
The Presidency denied the allegations, stating that Gbajabiamila neither appointed Adeyemi nor demanded money from him.
It maintained that the purported appointment documents were forged and that Adeyemi was already facing criminal prosecution over the alleged scheme.
Adeyemi has demanded an independent investigation into his allegations, insisting that the inquiry should examine the roles of all public institutions and officials connected to the disputed council.
President Tinubu subsequently directed the ICPC to investigate the creation and activities of the purported council, the inclusion of the ₦1.3 billion allocation in the federal budget and the alleged involvement of public officials.
The ICPC confirmed that it had commenced work on the matter and said it possessed the capacity to conduct the investigation independently or in collaboration with other law-enforcement agencies.
“The matter has been given to us. We are working on it,” ICPC spokesperson John Odey said.
Despite the executive investigation and pending criminal proceedings, Kawu maintained that the National Assembly must separately examine its appropriation process to establish how an agency disowned by the Presidency obtained a federal budget allocation.
The Senate, however, declined his renewed request, insisting that it would await the outcome of the court proceedings and the ICPC investigation.
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