The Senate on Wednesday declined a fresh request to investigate the controversial ₦1.3 billion budgetary allocation to the purported Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), citing ongoing court proceedings and a presidential directive mandating the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to probe the matter.
The decision followed a renewed motion by Senator Suleiman Abdulrahman Kawu (Kano South), who urged the upper chamber to investigate how the controversial allocation was captured in the 2026 Appropriation Act despite the Presidency’s insistence that the agency does not exist.
Kawu’s latest bid came a week after a similar request was rejected by the Senate.
Ruling on the motion, President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, held that the National Assembly could not embark on an inquiry into a matter already before a court of competent jurisdiction.
He further noted that President Bola Tinubu had already directed the ICPC to investigate the controversy and submit its findings within 30 days, making a parallel legislative probe unnecessary.
“In my view, the issue has been overtaken by events, as the culprit has been charged to court. It is now sub judice to attempt to go into it again. Mr President has already directed an investigation,” Akpabio said.
“If we go into it now, we will probably be jumping the gun.”
Despite the ruling, Kawu insisted that the legislature had an independent constitutional responsibility to scrutinise the budget approval process.
Commending the President for ordering an investigation, the lawmaker argued that the executive’s action could not replace parliamentary oversight.
“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. Who came to the National Assembly to defend the agency?” he said.
Although the Senate rejected the motion, Kawu maintained that his concern was not whether the PFIPC existed but how a ₦1.3 billion allocation found its way into the national budget without proper scrutiny.
The controversy has dominated national discourse for more than two weeks after it emerged that the 2026 Appropriation Act contains a ₦1.3 billion provision for the purported agency, even as the Presidency maintains that no such government body exists.
At the centre of the controversy is Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, who claims to be the Director-General of the PFIPC.
Adeyemi, who has been arrested by the Nigeria Police Force, is standing trial on allegations bordering on impersonation and related offences.
He is also involved in a public dispute with the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, after alleging that the presidential aide demanded a ₦400 million bribe and sought 48 per cent of the agency’s proposed ₦27.4 billion take-off grant.
The Presidency has dismissed the allegations as false and reiterated that the PFIPC is not a recognised government agency.
In response to the controversy, President Tinubu directed the ICPC to investigate the circumstances surrounding the agency and the controversial budgetary allocation, with the anti-graft agency expected to conclude its investigation within 30 days.