It was not the allegation itself that shocked many observers of the National Assembly. Nigeria has witnessed budget controversies before.
What made the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) affair different was that, even after the Presidency publicly disowned the council and directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate its activities, senators themselves were still searching for answers.
One of them was Senator Suleiman Kawu Sumaila.
Standing on the floor of the Senate, the Kano South lawmaker did not merely ask for an investigation into the mysterious N1.302 billion allocation to the PFIPC.
He warned that the controversy threatened “the integrity of the Senate,” exposed weaknesses in legislative scrutiny and risked eroding public confidence in the National Assembly.
Hours later, while speaking with journalists, he insisted that the President’s directive to the ICPC could not replace a legislative investigation.
More revealingly, he acknowledged that
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