Senate says ₦1.3bn for fake agency not their fault

The Senate spokesperson, Yemi Adaramodu, came out yesterday to say the ₦1.3 billion appropriated for the non-existent Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council in the 2026 budget was neither created nor inserted by the National Assembly. They are washing their hands clean of this whole matter, claiming it is not their duty to conduct security checks on people appointed to head MDAs.

But let us think about this carefully. If ₦1.3 billion can be allocated to an agency that does not exist, and nobody in the National Assembly noticed or asked questions during the budget process, then what exactly are they doing with our money? The Senate is supposed to scrutinise every line of the budget. Now they are telling us that the dispute is between the Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, and the man accused of forging documents, Adeniyi Adeyemi. Mr Adeyemi has been hiding since he was declared wanted, but he claims the agency was established in 2024 and that Gbajabiamila demanded 48 percent of that ₦1.3 billion.

Gbajabiamila has now given Adeyemi 72 hours to retract his allegations or face a ₦10 billion defamation suit. Atiku Abubakar has called for an independent investigation. The question I am asking is simple — if the Senate did not insert this budget line, who did? And how do we trust a system where such a large sum can appear for a fake agency without anyone raising an alarm until the public finds out?