Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Senator Kawu Sumaila, representing Kano South Senatorial District, has declared that he is not afraid of suspension after the Senate rejected his motion seeking a comprehensive investigation into alleged budget irregularities involving an agency linked to the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila. Addressing journalists after the motion was turned down on Wednesday, 8 July 2026, the outspoken lawmaker insisted that his concern was not the creation of the agency but its inclusion in the national budget without what he described as proper legislative scrutiny.
According to Sumaila, while the President has the constitutional power to establish agencies, the National Assembly bears the constitutional responsibility of scrutinising and approving budgetary allocations. "My main concern is the budget. Mr President can constitute or can create an agency without the approval of the National Assembly constitutionally he is empowered to do so, therefore I am not more concerned about that one," he said. "What we are concerned about is who legalised the inclusion or who facilitated the inclusion of that agency in the national budget, which is our constitutional responsibility. Who came and defended that budget? Who is responsible in the National Assembly?" he demanded.
The rejected motion, titled "Urgent Need to Investigate the Budgetary Allocation, Operations, and Controversy Surrounding the Purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) to Safeguard the Integrity of the Senate and the Federal Government," was moved by Sumaila under Order 9 and Rule 9(c) of the Senate Standing Orders (2026). The PFIPC controversy centres on the discovery that the purported council, which the Presidency later disowned as non-existent, secured a staggering ₦1.3 billion allocation under Budget Code 0111062001 in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
The Senate leadership and pro-executive lawmakers swiftly moved against the motion, voting it down before it could be formalised for committee review, triggering immediate allegations of a legislative cover-up designed to protect top presidential aides from public scrutiny. Responding to calls for his suspension over the motion, Sumaila dismissed the threat with characteristic defiance. "I don't know why you're calling for suspension, suspend who? What is suspension? I can live without the Senate," he declared. "I am a representative of the people, and I've said in my message, if the Senate decides, I am okay if not…but the main thing is that as National Assembly we must talk because the National Assembly is part of the problem and the President cannot do our work".
By explicitly naming Gbajabiamila's office, Sumaila has escalated the political stakes, challenging the integrity of the presidency's closest administrative gatekeeper. The rapid suppression of the probe has drawn sharp criticism from civil society groups and opposition figures, who have accused the Senate leadership of complicity in shielding the executive from accountability. Sumaila's bold declaration that he can "live without the Senate" echoes the frustrations of independent-minded lawmakers who argue that the current 10th Assembly has largely become a rubber-stamp institution for the executive arm of government. As the PFIPC scandal continues to unfold, with President Bola Tinubu having directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the matter, Sumaila's defiance has positioned him as a vocal critic of what he describes as a failure of legislative oversight.
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