PFIPC Budget Controversy: Senate Sets Emergency Meeting For Tuesday

The Senate is expected to deliberate on Tuesday over the controversy surrounding the ₦1.3 billion allocation to the disputed Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) in the 2026 Appropriation Act.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

The allocation has attracted scrutiny following reports that no representative of the council appeared before the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service to defend the proposed budget before its approval.

According to Punch, sources within the Presidency and the civil service alleged that a forged appointment letter bearing what was described as a falsified signature of the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, was accepted by officials at the Civil Service Headquarters without undergoing proper verification.

The document allegedly enabled Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew to obtain office space at the Federal Secretariat Complex in Abuja, allowing the disputed agency to operate with the appearance of official government recognition for more than a year.

Several sources familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the situation could have been avoided if established administrative and verification procedures had been properly followed.

They identified the Budget Office, the Civil Service Headquarters and the National Assembly as key institutions where stronger scrutiny could have detected the alleged irregularities earlier.

According to the sources, the failure to verify the appointment documents had wider implications, affecting diplomatic missions, government ministries, the National Assembly and even private individuals who interacted with the agency.

A source within the National Assembly also alleged that the ₦1.3 billion allocation was introduced into the budget through a backdoor process.

“It was not presented as a standalone budget item. It came alongside other submissions transmitted directly from the Presidency, so there was no separate budget defence or detailed oversight,” the source said.

The official added that the Senate leadership is expected to address the issue when plenary resumes on Tuesday in a bid to calm growing public concern and respond to allegations of possible complicity involving some presiding officers.