Senator Sulaiman Kawu Sumaila, representing Kano South Senatorial District, has called on the Senate to investigate the inclusion of a controversial agency in the 2025 national budget, insisting that the legislature must identify those responsible for its insertion to safeguard transparency, accountability and the integrity of the budget process.
Speaking with journalists at the National Assembly after raising the issue on the Senate floor under Orders 9 and 9(c) of the Senate Standing Orders as a matter of privilege, Sumaila said his concern was to determine whether the National Assembly played any role in approving or inserting the agency’s budgetary allocation.
According to the lawmaker, the issue goes beyond the executive’s ongoing investigation into the agency and touches on the credibility of the country’s appropriation process.
“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.
Sumaila explained that the Constitution empowers the National Assembly to amend appropriation proposals submitted by the executive through additions, deductions or other adjustments before passage, making it necessary to establish the origin of the budgetary provision.
“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.
The senator urged the Senate leadership to direct the Committees on Appropriations and Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions to investigate the circumstances surrounding the allocation.
He noted that while President Bola Tinubu had already ordered an executive investigation into the matter, the legislature has an independent constitutional obligation to examine its own role in the appropriation 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 said.
Responding to questions on the Senate’s reaction, Sumaila clarified that he invoked Order 9(c) because it provides senators with a privileged avenue to draw the chamber’s attention to issues of urgent national importance.
Although the Senate did not debate or adopt the proposal as a substantive motion, he said the primary objective had been achieved by formally notifying the chamber of the issue.
“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 explained.
Sumaila stressed that ensuring accountability in the appropriation process is critical to maintaining public confidence in governance, adding that Nigerians deserve to know how the agency was included in the 2025 national budget and who was responsible for its insertion.
