The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) is demanding that Senate President Godswill Akpabio and House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas release certified documents on how the National Assembly approved over ₦1.3 billion for the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC)/Presidential Economic Advisory Council in the 2026 budget. The rights group wants answers on a funding decision that's now shrouded in controversy.
SERAP is pushing both legislative leaders to use their constitutional powers under sections 88 and 89 of Nigeria's constitution to probe the allocation to what it calls "a fictitious presidential council." The organisation wants a full investigation into who approved the money and whether anyone involved broke the rules.
The group has also demanded the names of lawmakers on the committees that considered the allocation, along with details of government officials who defended it before those panels. SERAP wants to know whether the allocation came from the president's original budget proposal or was added later during the appropriations process.
In a Freedom of Information request dated July 4, 2026, SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare raised a red flag about conflicting versions of what happened. The presidency has publicly said the council is fictitious and was never formally established by the Federal Government.
"Nobody has a more sacred obligation to obey the law than those who make the law," SERAP stated in its request to the National Assembly. The group argued that lawmakers must scrutinise the executive's spending plans before approving them, not simply rubber-stamp budget proposals.
According to SERAP, Nigeria's 1999 constitution gives the National Assembly major responsibilities during the appropriations process. "These constitutional duties require the National Assembly not merely to approve the Executive's budget proposals, but to scrutinise, debate and authorise public expenditure in line with the Constitution," the group said.
The rights organisation stressed that Nigerians deserve to know whether public money was allocated to an entity that was never legally created. "Providing the requested information would enable Nigerians to assess whether the National Assembly discharged its constitutional responsibilities," SERAP's request read.
SERAP has given Akpabio and Abbas seven days to respond to its Freedom of Information request. The group wants details on which lawmakers raised questions about the council's legal status or operational mandate during the budget process, and what action the National Assembly took in response.
