The Senate has distanced itself from the controversy surrounding the alleged non-existent Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), insisting that it has no petition before it to warrant any intervention in the matter.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, made the clarification on Tuesday while responding to questions from journalists after plenary.

The controversy, which has dominated public discourse in recent weeks, pits the self-acclaimed Director-General of the PFIPC, Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew, against the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila.

While the Presidency has maintained that the PFIPC is not a recognised government agency, Adeyemi has insisted that the council is legitimate, alleging that Gbajabiamila collected N400 million from him to facilitate his appointment and later demanded 48 per cent of the N1.3 billion allegedly appropriated for the agency in the 2026 budget.

Responding to the development, Adaramodu said the Senate had no reason to intervene because no formal petition had been submitted by any of the parties involved or by any concerned Nigerian.

“The Senate has no petition before it on the matter. The allegations and counter-allegations over the alleged fake agency and fake Director-General are issues within the executive arm of government and should be resolved there,” he said.

He acknowledged reports that the PFIPC has a budget line in the 2026 Appropriation Act but stressed that the National Assembly neither created nor inserted the agency into the budget.

“The budget line being referred to was not created or inserted by the National Assembly. It is also not the responsibility of the Senate or the House of Representatives to conduct security or background checks on those appointed to head Ministries, Departments and Agencies,” he said.

According to him, had the alleged Director-General been one of the presidential nominees requiring Senate confirmation, the upper chamber might have had a basis to be directly involved.

Adaramodu further noted that the matter has already become the subject of litigation, making it inappropriate for the Senate to comment further in line with parliamentary practice.

He, however, maintained that the Senate would not hesitate to act if a formal petition is submitted.

“If any of the feuding parties or any concerned Nigerian forwards a petition to the Senate on the existence or non-existence of the agency or its Director-General, the matter will be considered through the appropriate legislative process,” he said.