Senate To Meet On Tuesday Over Controversial Budget Of PFIPC

The Senate is expected to address the controversy surrounding the ₦1.3 billion allocation to the disputed Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) in the 2026 Appropriation Act when plenary resumes on Tuesday.

According to Punch, the allocation was approved despite claims that no official of the council appeared before the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service to defend the budget.

Sources in the Presidency and the civil service said a forged appointment letter bearing a falsified signature of the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, was allegedly accepted at the Civil Service Headquarters without adequate verification.

The letter reportedly enabled Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew to secure an office at the Federal Secretariat Complex in Abuja, giving the disputed agency the appearance of government legitimacy for over a year.

Multiple sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the scandal could have been prevented if bureaucratic checks had not failed at several points.

They identified the Budget Office, the House of Representatives and the Civil Service Headquarters as institutions where the matter should have been properly scrutinised.

The sources said the alleged failure to verify the appointment letter later affected diplomatic missions, government ministries, the National Assembly and private individuals.

A National Assembly source said the ₦1.3 billion budget entry was allegedly inserted through a backdoor arrangement.

“It was not brought in as a stand-alone item. It was done collectively with others that came in directly from the Presidency. So there was no defence or oversight.

“But I understand the Senate leadership will address the controversy on Tuesday to douse the growing tension and alleged complicity by any of its presiding officers,” the official said.