Senator Kawu Demands Senate Probe into Controversial Agency’s Inclusion in 2025 Budget
Senator Sulaiman Kawu Sumaila has called for a thorough Senate investigation into the inclusion of a controversial agency in the 2025 national budget, insisting that the legislature must identify those responsible for facilitating its insertion in the interest of transparency, accountability and the integrity of Nigeria’s budgetary process.
The Kano South lawmaker made the call while briefing journalists at the National Assembly after raising the issue on the floor of the Senate under Orders 9 and 9(c) of the Senate Standing Orders as a matter of privilege.
Sumaila clarified that his concern was not with the executive’s ongoing investigation into the agency but with determining whether the National Assembly played any role in approving or inserting the budgetary allocation.
“My major concern is governance integrity. I discovered that an already controversial agency was included in the national budget. That is why I brought the matter before the Senate under a matter of privilege,” he said.
According to the senator, the National Assembly is constitutionally empowered to amend appropriation proposals submitted by the executive through additions, deductions and other adjustments before passage, making it necessary to establish the origin of the allocation.
“There are only two possible sources. Either the proposal came from the executive or it originated from the National Assembly during the budget process. We need to know who facilitated its inclusion in the national budget,” he stated.
He urged the Senate leadership to direct the Committees on Appropriations and Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions to investigate the circumstances surrounding the agency’s inclusion in the budget.
Sumaila noted that while President Bola Tinubu had already ordered an executive investigation into the matter, the National Assembly also has an independent constitutional responsibility to scrutinise its own role in the budget process.
“The President can order an investigation without seeking the approval of the National Assembly because he is constitutionally empowered to do so. My concern is different. I want to know who legalized or facilitated the inclusion of the agency in the budget, because that falls within our constitutional responsibility,” he added.
Addressing questions on the Senate’s response to his presentation, the lawmaker explained that he invoked Order 9(c) because it provides members with the opportunity to draw the Senate’s attention to issues of urgent national importance.
He said although the chamber did not debate or adopt the proposal as a motion, the objective of formally notifying the Senate had been achieved.
“A matter of privilege gives you the opportunity to communicate an important issue to the Senate. The Senate may decide whether or not to debate it. What is important is that I have formally notified the Senate that this matter deserves investigation,” he said.
Sumaila maintained that accountability in the appropriation process is critical to sustaining public confidence in governance, stressing that Nigerians deserve to know how the controversial agency found its way into the 2025 national budget and who was responsible for its inclusion.
