The Senate has resolved to hold off on taking any action regarding the controversy surrounding the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) and its inclusion in the 2026 Appropriation Act until the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) concludes its investigation.

The decision followed a motion sponsored by Senator Suleiman Abdulrahman Kawu, who called for an urgent investigation into the budgetary allocation, operations and controversy surrounding the purported PFIPC to protect the integrity of both the Senate and the Federal Government.

Presenting the motion under Order 9, Rule 9(c) of the Senate Standing Orders 2026, Kawu described the issue as a matter of significant institutional concern, warning that it could undermine the credibility of the Senate, the National Assembly and Nigeria’s budgetary process.

He noted that although senior Presidency officials had publicly described the PFIPC as fake, fictitious and unauthorised, the organisation still appeared in the 2026 Appropriation Act under Budget Code 0111062001, with a budgetary allocation of N1.302 billion.

According to the senator, the allocation consisted of N802.98 million for personnel costs, N200 million for overhead expenses and N300 million for capital expenditure, raising serious concerns about how the agency was captured in the national budget.

Kawu argued that a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the PFIPC’s inclusion in the budget was necessary to preserve public confidence in the appropriation process and the National Assembly’s oversight responsibilities.

He urged the Senate to condemn what he described as administrative lapses, internal collaboration or possible fraudulent activities that allowed a purportedly non-existent agency to secure a place in the federal budget.

The lawmaker also proposed that the Senate Committees on Ethics, Code of Conduct and Public Petitions, alongside the Committee on Appropriations, be mandated to carry out a comprehensive investigation into the matter.

Responding to the motion, Deputy President of the Senate Barau Jibrin advised against launching an immediate parliamentary investigation, noting that President Bola Tinubu had already directed the ICPC to conduct a full probe.

Barau acknowledged that the issue could have been introduced as a substantive motion through the Senate Committee on Rules and Business but maintained that the Presidency had already initiated the appropriate investigative process.

“The Presidency has taken up this matter by directing that the ICPC should investigate fully how this matter came to be. The marching order has been given and I think the ICPC has started.

“To me, I believe that what we need to do at this stage is to have the report of the ICPC, and then we can act on that report and deal with it as we feel appropriate,” he said.

The Senate subsequently adopted the recommendation to await the outcome of the ICPC investigation before deciding on any further legislative action concerning the PFIPC controversy.

On Tuesday, President Tinubu directed the ICPC to launch a comprehensive investigation into the activities of the PFIPC and all issues connected to the controversy surrounding the agency.

The President also instructed that the investigation be concluded and a detailed report submitted to him within 30 days.

The House of Representatives was thrown into a rowdy session on Wednesday after lawmakers disagreed over a motion seeking to invite President Bola Tinubu to explain the alleged non-funding of constituency projects.

The motion, sponsored by Alex Mascot Ikwechegh (LP – Abia State), urged the President to appear before the House over the continued delay in releasing funds for constituency projects nationwide.

The motion received a seconder, while another lawmaker proposed an amendment calling for the House to suspend plenary for one week until the issue was resolved.

The proposals immediately triggered a heated debate on the floor of the chamber.

Yusuf Gagdi (APC – Plateau State) opposed the motion, arguing that there was no justification for summoning the President since the implementation and funding of constituency projects are the responsibility of the relevant ministries, departments and agencies.

He also rejected the proposal to suspend legislative activities for one week, describing the suggestion as unnecessary.

Gagdi’s remarks were met with resistance from several lawmakers, leading to shouting matches and disorder in the chamber as members exchanged arguments over the issue.

As tensions escalated, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas stepped in and directed lawmakers to vote on the matter to determine the House’s position.

However, the Speaker ruled the proposal to invite the President out of order, explaining that it was not contained in the original motion presented by Ikwechegh.

President Bola Tinubu has inaugurated a Presidential Working Group to draft the National Policing Bill, a landmark piece of legislation expected to provide the legal framework for implementing state police across Nigeria.

The committee was inaugurated on Tuesday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja by the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, who represented the President.

The move follows the passage of the Constitution Alteration (State Police) Bill, 2026, by the Senate, which proposes a dual policing structure comprising the Nigeria Police Force and state police services across the country’s 36 states.

Speaking during the inauguration, President Tinubu explained that while the constitutional amendment lays the foundation for state policing, the National Policing Bill will provide the operational framework needed to make the system functional.

“The constitutional amendment bill provides the framework for dual policing, but it does not operationalise it. That responsibility rests with the National Policing Bill,” the President said.

He noted that the proposed legislation would define minimum policing standards, establish criteria for state preparedness, create mechanisms for collaboration between federal and state authorities, outline accountability measures, strengthen human rights protections, and set conditions for personnel transition.

According to the President, the committee has been assigned the responsibility of producing a technically sound and implementation-ready draft bill that will be transmitted to the National Assembly immediately after the constitutional amendment process is completed.

Tinubu added that the panel would also recommend any additional legal instruments required to ensure the seamless implementation of the proposed dual policing system.

“We must not wait until the constitutional process is concluded before beginning this important assignment,” he added.

Gbajabiamila will chair the committee, which includes the Lateef Fagbemi, the National Security Adviser, the Inspector-General of Police, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), the Chairman of the NGF Committee on State Police, and members of the committee’s secretariat.

Representing the governors, Dapo Abiodun assured the Presidency of the NGF’s full support for the initiative.

He revealed that state governors had agreed to work towards the simultaneous passage of the constitutional amendment by their respective state Houses of Assembly once it is transmitted.

“The plan is that when the bill gets to our various Houses of Assembly, we will all pass it on the same day,” Abiodun said.

He described state policing as a long-awaited response to Nigerians’ demand for a decentralised and community-focused security system.

According to him, the reform builds on the successes recorded by regional security outfits such as Amotekun in the South-West.

Abiodun further argued that establishing state police would significantly strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture by increasing the number of law enforcement officers nationwide.

“If each state recruits about 6,000 officers, nearly 200,000 additional personnel will complement the existing federal police,” he said.

The governor also commended Tinubu for initiating implementation plans before the constitutional amendment process had been concluded, describing the move as evidence of proactive governance.

Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, described the initiative as timely in view of Nigeria’s current security challenges.

He urged state governors to ensure the constitutional amendment receives swift approval in their various legislatures.

“There is no denying that we are at a critical point in our security situation, and all stakeholders must play their part,” Fagbemi said.

Also speaking, NBA President Afam Osigwe reaffirmed the association’s support for state policing, maintaining that a single national police force could no longer adequately address Nigeria’s growing security demands.

He, however, cautioned that the enabling legislation must include strong safeguards to prevent abuse by state authorities.

“We must ensure that we do not create another problem. The legal framework must guarantee accountability and protect citizens from oppression,” Osigwe said.

He pledged the NBA’s commitment to supporting the development of legislation capable of strengthening national security while protecting constitutional rights and upholding the rule of law.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is set to arraign two former managing directors of the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC) and the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) over separate allegations of money laundering involving more than $989,630 and N1.42 billion.

The separate cases, filed before Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja, involve former WRPC Managing Director, Jimoh Yisawu, and former PHRC Managing Director, Ahmed Dikko.

Yisawu is expected to be arraigned on Friday on an eight-count charge, while Dikko is scheduled to appear before the court on Wednesday to answer a 12-count charge.

According to court documents, Yisawu is accused of laundering $789,950 and $122,600, allegedly converted through third parties between 2023 and 2025.

The EFCC alleged that the former refinery boss used one Samaila Bala to convert $789,950, which investigators claim were proceeds of unlawful activities beyond his legitimate earnings as a former official of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

The commission further alleged that the transactions were executed through cash payments exceeding the legal threshold without passing through recognised financial institutions, contrary to the provisions of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

Investigators also accused Yisawu of laundering an additional $122,600 through Rasheed Yusuf of Rasheedat Anike Global Ventures between February 2024 and March 2025.

In another charge, the EFCC alleged that between January and June 2015, Yisawu knowingly received N25.56 millioninto his Zenith Bank and Access Bank accounts from JKpeez Impex Company, identified as a contractor to the former Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, now NNPCL.

The anti-graft agency also accused him of investing N65.86 million in treasury bills through Cordros Securities Limited and retaining N15 million and N3 million allegedly paid by Ebenco Global Link Limited, another contractor linked to NNPCL.

Meanwhile, Ahmed Dikko is facing allegations involving transactions valued at about N1.42 billion, with the alleged offences dating back to 2022.

One of the charges alleges that in February 2024, he arranged a cash payment equivalent to N218.38 million through one Hadeija Bashir for the purchase of a property located at Plot 558, Abubakar Umar Street, Katampe Extension, Abuja, without using any financial institution.

The EFCC further accused the former PHRC Managing Director of retaining N100 million and N90 million allegedly received from Ebenco Global Link Limited, a refinery contractor, and concealing the origin of the funds through an Access Bank account reportedly operated by Aisha Ahmed Dikko.

Another charge alleges that Dikko, working alongside Masterpiece Projects and Investment Limited, disguised the source of N328.71 million allegedly paid by OMSA Integrated Services Limited from transactions linked to NNPCL’s allocation of Vacuum Gas Oil for export.

The commission also alleged that he received N59.2 million from funds channelled through Masterpiece Projects and Investment Limited, procured one Ebenezar Oluwagbemiga of Ebenco Global Link Limited to receive N356.41 millionon his behalf, converted $77,080 through Ibrahim Isa Yaro, and used his son’s GTBank account to receive N20 millionallegedly paid by Ebenco Global Link Limited.

According to the EFCC, the alleged offences violate various provisions of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, as well as the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011, as amended.

Both former refinery executives are expected to enter their pleas when their respective trials begin before the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The Federal Government has confirmed a temporary delay to the fourth evacuation flight for Nigerians stranded in South Africa after a technical fault was discovered on the aircraft scheduled for the mission.

The Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Wednesday that the evacuation was suspended after cracks were detected on the cockpit windscreen of the Air Peace aircraft in Johannesburg, forcing aviation officials to ground the plane for safety reasons.

In a statement issued by the ministry’s spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, the government said the aircraft was withdrawn from service as a precaution to protect passengers and crew.

According to the ministry, Air Peace has completed arrangements to dispatch a replacement aircraft to South Africa later on Wednesday to airlift the affected Nigerians back home.

Ebienfa apologised to the stranded passengers for the disruption, emphasising that the decision to postpone the flight was made solely in the interest of passenger safety.

“We have a situation in Johannesburg regarding the fourth evacuation flight. The aircraft could not depart because cracks were discovered on the cockpit windscreen. Air Peace will deploy another aircraft later today to bring the returnees. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience,” the statement said.

The delay affects the fourth batch of Nigerians scheduled for evacuation under the Federal Government’s ongoing repatriation programme from South Africa.

Authorities assured passengers that efforts are underway to complete the operation as quickly as possible while ensuring full compliance with aviation safety standards.