The Senate has said it will not step into the controversy surrounding the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), explaining that no formal petition has been submitted to the National Assembly and that the matter is already before the courts.
The position was announced on Tuesday, July 7, as questions continue over the council’s ₦1.3 billion allocation in the 2026 Appropriation Act and the legal troubles involving its embattled Director-General, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi.
Speaking with journalists after plenary, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Publicity, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, confirmed that the PFIPC appears in the 2026 budget.
He, however, said the Senate could not investigate the matter without receiving an official petition from any of the parties involved or any concerned Nigerian.
Adaramodu also noted that the issue had become sub judice because it is currently before a court, making legislative intervention inappropriate at this stage.
“The allegations and counter-allegations over a fake agency and its director general are all within the executive, which should be sorted out by it, specifically between the office of the Chief of Staff and the alleged fake DG.
“The budget line, being referred to, was not created or inserted by the National Assembly, and it is not the duty of the Senate or the House of Representatives to carry out security checks on those supposedly appointed to head the various MDAs.
“If the alleged fake DG were to be one of the Presidential appointees screened and confirmed by the Senate, the controversy might have been perceived to be somewhat linked to us.
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“However, if a petition is sent to the Senate by any of the feuding parties or any concerned Nigerian on the existence or non-existence of agency or DG, it will be legislatively looked into,” Adaramodu said.
The Senate’s position comes days after lawmakers dismissed claims that Senate President Godswill Akpabio played any role in approving the allocation.
According to lawmakers, the National Assembly neither established the council nor initiated the budgetary provision.
The controversy began after the discovery of a ₦1.3 billion allocation to the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council in the 2026 Appropriation Act, despite repeated insistence by the Presidency that the agency does not exist.
It was previously reported that the allocation was approved without Adeyemi, who claims to be the council’s Director-General, or any representative of the council appearing before the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service to defend the proposal.
The development has intensified scrutiny of the 2026 budget process, with many questioning how funding for an agency whose existence is disputed was included in the national budget.
The controversy deepened after reports emerged that the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation had received and processed official correspondence from the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council months before the Presidency publicly denied the agency’s existence.
Adeyemi is currently facing trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja on charges bordering on conspiracy, forgery and impersonation.
The Federal Government has listed Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, along with 10 other individuals, as prosecution witnesses in the case.