By

James Ezema

ABUJA — The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) has condemned the Federal Government over the scandal involving the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, describing it as a national embarrassment and an indictment of the country’s governance system.

The agency, which the Presidency has now described as “fake” or “fictitious,” was included in the 2026 Appropriation Act signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The CNPP said the government’s handling of the matter has projected Nigeria in a poor light internationally.

In a statement on Saturday signed by its Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Comrade James Ezema, the CNPP said what should have been a routine administrative correction has turned into “one of the greatest self-inflicted embarrassments in Nigeria’s democratic history” due to poor crisis management by the APC-led administration.

The group said if Nigeria operated functional institutions with a culture of accountability, top officials implicated in the scandal would have resigned or been sacked immediately.

According to the statement, one Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew allegedly operated the non-existent agency for months. He reportedly occupied office space in the Federal Secretariat, Abuja, held meetings with ambassadors and foreign nationals, corresponded with government institutions, and opened bank accounts, including one with the Central Bank of Nigeria, posing as Director-General of the council.

The controversy deepened after documents showed the same “non-existent” agency was allocated over N1.3 billion in the 2026 budget for salaries, allowances, and a proposed World Investment Summit.

“A federal budget does not write itself,” the CNPP stated. “Every line item passes through rigorous bureaucratic and political processes. The budget is prepared by the executive, scrutinized by the Federal Executive Council chaired by the President, presented to the National Assembly by the President, debated, approved, and signed into law by the President.”

The CNPP argued that the government cannot sign an Appropriation Act containing an agency and later declare it “fake” or “illegal” through a press statement. It insisted that by virtue of its inclusion in the Act and presidential assent, the agency had legal recognition for the budget year until the National Assembly amends or repeals the relevant provisions.

“To declare an agency contained in a subsisting Act of Parliament as ‘fake’ is to ridicule the National Assembly, undermine the sanctity of our laws, and portray Nigeria as a Banana Republic where state institutions have collapsed,” the statement said.

The CNPP said a responsible administration would have scrapped the agency, ordered an investigation, and sent an Executive Bill to the National Assembly to amend the 2026 budget. Instead, it accused the government of actions that have “embarrassed Nigeria internationally” and reinforced negative perceptions about corruption.

The group posed several questions: “If a supposedly non-existent agency can find its way into a signed federal budget, what other questionable entities are hidden in government finances? If an allegedly fictitious agency could secure office space inside the Federal Secretariat, what does that say about our governance systems?”

The CNPP is now demanding the immediate sack or resignation of all officials whose actions enabled the scandal, including:

1. The Chief of Staff to the President
2. The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, if an account was opened for the agency
3. Relevant officials in the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation
4. Relevant officials in the Budget Office of the Federation
5. Members of the Federal Executive Council who approved the budget proposal
6. Ministers and heads of agencies who processed documents relating to the agency
7. Principal officers and committee chairmen in the National Assembly who handled the budget process

The group further demanded:

1. Immediate scrapping of the agency
2. Transmission of an Executive Bill to the National Assembly to amend the 2026 Appropriation Act
3. Establishment of an independent judicial commission of inquiry
4. Publication of all records relating to the agency’s inclusion in the budget
5. Prosecution of all persons found culpable

The CNPP warned that if President Tinubu fails to take these steps, he should “take full responsibility for this unprecedented governance failure and tender his resignation.”

“As Chairman of the Federal Executive Council that scrutinized the budget proposal and as the President who signed the 2026 Appropriation Act into law, President Tinubu cannot escape responsibility,” Ezema stated.

“Nigeria cannot continue to be governed in a manner that exposes the country to ridicule and reinforces the perception that corruption has become institutionalized. This scandal is a defining moment for the APC administration,” the CNPP concluded.