The Senate said on Tuesday that the ₦1.3 billion included in the 2026 budget for a non-existent agency called the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) was "neither recommended nor inserted" by them.
The Senate explained that lawmakers are not responsible for checking the backgrounds of people appointed to lead government ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs). So, they cannot be blamed for the ongoing issue.
Senate spokesperson, Yemi Adaramodu, shared this information while speaking to journalists in his office right after the plenary session.
"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 the various MDAs," the senator said.
Mr Adaramodu, who represents Ekiti South Senatorial District, also mentioned that the National Assembly will not get involved in this issue since it is already in court.
He emphasized that the argument is between Adeniyi Adeyemi, who is accused of faking government appointment letters and posing as the director-general of the agency, and Femi Gbajabiamila, the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu.
"The allegations and counter allegations over fake agency and fake Director-General are all within the executive which should be sorted out by it, specifically between the office of the Chief of Staff and the alleged fake DG," he added.
The senator pointed out that the National Assembly could have been linked to this issue if they had screened and confirmed the controversial Director-General.
"If the alleged fake DG were to be one of the presidential appointees screened and confirmed by the Senate, the controversy might have been perceived to be somewhat linked to us."
"However, if a petition is sent to the Senate by any of the feuding parties or any concerned Nigerian on existence or non-existence of agency or DG, it will be legislatively looked into," he added.
This issue has stirred up a lot of criticism after Mr Adeyemi was declared wanted for allegedly claiming to be the DG of an agency that the Presidency says does not exist.
The Presidency accused Mr Adeyemi of forging appointment letters and other official documents to falsely claim he was the DG of the PFIPC and the Presidential Executive Advisory Council (PEAC), both of which the Presidency said are not real.
The police had charged Mr Adeyemi and two others in the Federal High Court with eight counts. The case, which was filed on 27 November 2025, is set to be heard on 27 July. Mr Adeyemi has been in hiding since he was declared wanted.
In an interview with PREMIUM TIMES last Thursday, Mr Adeyemi denied forging any appointment letters. He said the government's claims were an attempt to silence him.
He also insisted that the agency was formed in 2024 and claimed his life is in danger.
Earlier, Mr Adeyemi accused the president’s Chief of Staff of demanding 48 percent of the ₦1.3 billion budgeted for the agency in 2026.
On Tuesday, Mr Gbajabiamila told Mr Adeyemi to take back his allegations of corruption, abuse of office, fraud, and murder in 72 hours, or face a ₦10 billion defamation suit and criminal charges.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called for an independent investigation into the matter, saying Nigerians deserve to know if Mr Adeyemi acted alone or had help from government officials.
Similarly, a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), led by former Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs, Kabiru Turaki, urged the government to carry out a forensic investigation.
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