The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called upon Senate President Godswill Akpabio and House of Representatives Speaker Tajudeen Abbas to release documentation regarding the approval of over ₦1.3 billion for the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) in the 2026 Appropriation Act. Despite this significant funding, the Presidency has confirmed that this entity does not exist and was never formally established by the federal government.
In a formal request submitted on July 4, 2026, by deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP invoked the Freedom of Information Act to demand transparency. The organization is urging the National Assembly to utilize its constitutional authority under sections 88 and 89 to investigate how such a large sum could be allocated to an entity that lacks a legal basis. SERAP is specifically requesting records of the committee members who oversaw the budget approval, the officials who defended the proposal, and whether the line item originated from the executive branch or was added during the legislative process.
SERAP maintains that the National Assembly has a fundamental duty to rigorously scrutinize budget proposals rather than simply rubber-stamping executive requests. The organization argues that this discrepancy casts doubt on the integrity of Nigeria’s legislative oversight and public financial management. SERAP has given the lawmakers seven days to respond, stating that they are prepared to initiate legal action to ensure accountability. They emphasize that disclosing this information is essential for upholding democratic principles, fighting potential corruption, and restoring public trust in government institutions.
