House Probes N1.3bn Budget Fraud Amid Tinubu Summons Row

The House of Representatives on Wednesday descended into a rowdy session as lawmakers clashed over a motion to summon President Bola Tinubu over the alleged suspension of constituency project funding, before passing a separate resolution to form a 12-member ad hoc committee to investigate the inclusion of N1.3 billion for the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council in the 2026 Appropriation Framework.

The drama began when Labour Party lawmaker Alex Mascot Ikwechegh, representing Aba North and South Federal Constituency in Abia State, moved a motion calling on the President to appear before the House to explain persistent delays in funding constituency projects. Lawmaker Benedict Etanabene of Delta State also raised a point of privilege over a June 29 Treasury circular from the accountant-General of the Federation directing ministries to halt payments for zonal intervention projects pending fresh verification requirements.

Speaker Rules Summons Out of Order

The motion to summon Tinubu split the chamber sharply. Plateau State APC lawmaker Yusuf Gagdi led opposition to the proposal, arguing that budget implementation responsibilities rested with ministers and heads of agencies rather than the President personally. His submission triggered loud protests and shouting across the floor, with Speaker Tajudeen Abbas requiring several minutes to restore order. Abbas ultimately ruled the summons proposal out of order, saying it did not form part of the original motion. The House instead resolved to summon relevant ministers to explain budget implementation failures.

On the PFIPC matter, the House constituted an ad hoc committee chaired by Appropriations Committee Chairman Abubakar Bichi to trace how the N1.3 billion allocation entered the budget, invite the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning and the Budget Office Director-General to explain the verification process, and report back to the House within four weeks.

Atiku Links Gbajabiamila to Scandal

Atiku Abubakar described the President’s appointment of Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila to chair a Working Group on the National Policing Bill on the same day Tinubu ordered the ICPC to probe the PFIPC scandal as a morally reprehensible vote of confidence in an official under public scrutiny. He said the simultaneous appointment and probe order sent a contradictory message about the government’s commitment to accountability. The Senate had separately declined to initiate its own PFIPC probe, deferring to the ICPC investigation instead. Consequently, the PFIPC scandal is now tracked across at least three separate institutional processes simultaneously.