PFIPC Scandal: Senate Backs Off,Pushes It To Presidency

The Senate on Tuesday distanced itself from the controversy surrounding the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), insisting it cannot intervene in the matter unless a formal petition is submitted to the National Assembly.

Washing its hands off the scandal, the upper legislative chamber insisted that the matter was for the Presidency to resolve.

The position comes amid growing scrutiny of the PFIPC, an agency the Presidency has described as “fake,” and its purported Director-General, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, whom officials have labelled an “impostor.”

Addressing journalists after the plenary, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, said the upper chamber had no basis to act on the matter despite the agency’s inclusion in the 2026 Appropriation Act.

The controversy has dominated public discourse in recent weeks following allegations and counter-allegations involving the PFIPC and the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.

While Gbajabiamila has disowned the agency, Adeyemi has insisted that the council is recognised by the Presidency.

Adeyemi further alleged that the President’s Chief of Staff collected N400 million from him to facilitate his appointment and later demanded 48 per cent of the N1.3 billion appropriated to the agency in the 2026 budget.

Responding to questions on the matter, Adaramodu maintained that the dispute was strictly an Executive branch issue.

“The allegations and counter-allegations over a fake agency and a fake Director-General are all within the Executive arm of government and should be sorted out there, specifically between the Office of the Chief of Staff and the alleged Director-General,” Adaramodu said.

The Senate spokesman acknowledged that the PFIPC received a budgetary allocation in the 2026 Appropriation Act but stressed that the National Assembly neither created the agency nor inserted it into the budget.

“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 various Ministries, Departments and Agencies,” he said.

Adaramodu noted that the Senate would have had a direct role in the controversy if Adeyemi had been among presidential nominees requiring legislative screening and confirmation.

“If the alleged Director-General were one of the presidential appointees screened and confirmed by the Senate, the controversy might have been perceived to be somewhat linked to us,” he added.

He also disclosed that the Senate would refrain from commenting further on the matter because it is already before a court of law.

According to him, the Senate Standing Rules prevent the chamber from debating or acting on issues that are pending before the courts.

Nevertheless, he said the National Assembly remains open to investigating the matter if a formal complaint is submitted.

“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 the agency or the Director-General, it will be legislatively looked into,” he said.

The Senate’s position comes as questions continue to mount over the legal status of the PFIPC and how it secured a budget allocation despite claims by the Presidency that the agency does not exist.

The PFIPC was listed in the 2026 Appropriation Act under the Presidency as part of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, with a total allocation of ₦1.303 billion.

The breakdown shows ₦802.98 million earmarked for personnel costs, ₦200 million for overhead expenses and ₦300 million for capital projects.

Meanwhile, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) has denied claims that public funds or salaries were paid to the agency.

Speaking at the weekend, the OAGF Director of Public Relations, Bawa Mokwa, said although the PFIPC applied to open an account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the process was never completed because critical documentation was not provided.

According to him, Adeyemi approached the OAGF with an appointment letter but did not disclose the identity of the signatory.

“The (CBN) account, till today, has not seen the light of day. It has not seen one kobo because the account is not completely operational,” Mokwa said.

However, documents indicate that the OAGF, in September 2025, deployed three officials — Ojo Victor, Omeh Amarachukwu and Wakili Saidu — to the PFIPC on secondment following a request allegedly made by Adeyemi.

The officials reportedly resumed duties at the council in September 2025 after submitting their posting letters to Adeyemi a month earlier, adding another layer of intrigue to the unfolding controversy.