A coalition of civil society organisations in Nigeria (CSOs) has petitioned the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate alleged irregularities in the country’s 2026 budget, including a N1.3 billion allocation to the purported Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) and about N8.4 billion in road projects under the National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education.

The Coalition also wants the anti-graft agency to investigate alleged relocation of federal projects to Ogun State and the role of Solomon Adeola, a senator popularly known as Yayi, in the appropriation process.

In the petition signed by the coalition’s Convener, Buna Olaitan, and General Secretary, Wyseman Ajayi, and presented to journalists in Lagos, the group called for a comprehensive investigation into how the disputed allocations entered the 2026 Appropriation Act and who proposed, processed, reviewed, approved or defended them.

It asked that Mr Adeola step aside as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, or be removed from direct oversight of the disputed matters, pending the outcome of an impartial investigation.

The group alleged that the 2026 appropriation process contained questionable allocations involving a purported government agency, projects allegedly outside the statutory mandates of some federal institutions, and projects allegedly relocated to Ogun State.

PFIPC: How did N1.3bn enter the budget?

The Coalition specifically urged the anti-graft agency to investigate the circumstances surrounding the inclusion of about N1.3 billion for the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) in the 2026 Appropriation Act.

It further questioned how an entity whose legal existence has subsequently been disputed by the Federal Government was able to secure a budgetary allocation and pass through the various stages of the appropriation process.

The controversy surrounding PFIPC has already triggered investigations by Nigerian authorities.

In an earlier report, the ICPC said its investigation established that PFIPC was not created by any law, Executive Order or other valid government instrument, and that its alleged promoter, Adeniyi Adeyemi, was never appointed by the Federal Government.

The Commission recommended his prosecution for alleged forgery, impersonation and related offences, while also recommending sanctions against public officers whose actions or omissions facilitated the scheme.

The Budget Office of the Federation, however, said that although N1.302 billion was appropriated to PFIPC, no money was released to the purported agency because the statutory conditions required for expenditure were not met.

For the Coalition, however, the issue goes beyond whether any money was eventually released. It wants the ICPC to establish how an entity whose legal existence was in question came to be included in the national budget and to trace the officials and processes through which the disputed provision passed.

N8.4bn road projects

The petition further draws attention to about N8.4 billion in road projects contained in the 2026 budget of the National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education.

The allocation had earlier attracted public scrutiny because road construction falls outside the commission’s core statutory mandate.

The commission subsequently said the projects were constituency projects inserted by members of the National Assembly, rather than projects conceived by the commission itself.

The Coalition is asking the ICPC to determine who originated the projects, who caused them to be included in the budget, why they were assigned to the commission and whether any public official or other person obtained an improper advantage from the arrangement.

The group also wants investigators to establish the locations and beneficiaries of the projects and determine whether any of them were subsequently relocated to Ogun State.

Projects allegedly relocated to Ogun

Another major allegation in the petition concerns federal projects which, according to the Coalition, were originally associated with federal institutions or agencies in other parts of the country but were allegedly relocated to Ogun State and subsequently presented as constituency or politically associated projects.

The petition specifically calls for the verification of projects allegedly associated with the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, and the Federal Cooperative College, Oji River, Enugu State, among others.

It asks the ICPC to examine original appropriation documents, project codes, agency submissions, committee records, procurement documents, payment records and the physical locations of the projects.

The Coalition also wants investigators to establish whether any projects were diverted, substituted, relocated or misrepresented.

The allegations come amid separate scrutiny of projects associated with Mr Adeola, who represents Ogun West and chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee.

A recent report by Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), for instance, examined a road project in Ogun State funded through the National Horticultural Research Institute and reported that Mr Adeola publicly described himself as the facilitator of the project, although the institute is located in Ibadan.

Separately, the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta recently announced that an ongoing two-storey hospital complex at the university was donated by Mr Adeola.

Previous petition

The Coalition’s petition comes shortly after another civil society organisation, the Pan-African Society for Social & Economic Change (PASSEC), petitioned the ICPC over alleged budgetary irregularities involving projects allegedly linked to Mr Adeola between 2023 and 2026.

PASSEC alleged that projects linked to the senator amounted to more than N1.8 trillion over the period. The figure and the allegations remain claims by the organisation and have not been established by a court or anti-corruption agency.

The latest Coalition petition similarly calls for investigators to examine not only Mr Adeola but all public officers, legislative officials, committee personnel, contractors, consultants, intermediaries and other persons whose conduct may have contributed to any wrongdoing.

It asks the ICPC to “conduct a comprehensive investigation into the allegations; invite Mr Adeola to answer questions and provide relevant documents; and examine the original 2026 appropriation records.”

The Coalition also wants the anti-graft agency to “establish how the disputed PFIPC allocation entered the Appropriation Act; conduct a forensic review of the disputed projects, including procurement, payments, contractors and beneficiaries; and verify the legal existence and statutory mandates of agencies involved.”

It further charged the ICPC to investigate alleged diversion or relocation of federal projects; determine whether public resources were used for political or personal advantage; pursue recovery of public funds where unlawful diversion or financial loss is established; and prosecute any person against whom sufficient evidence of criminal liability is established.

The Coalition also demanded that Mr Adeola ultimately step down as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, or otherwise be removed from direct oversight of the disputed matters, pending the outcome of an impartial investigation.

A wider budget oversight question

The petition arrives against the backdrop of continuing questions over the integrity of Nigeria’s N68.32 trillion 2026 budget.

The PFIPC controversy has raised questions about the controls between the Executive’s budget preparation process and legislative appropriation.

The House of Representatives conducted a separate investigation into the purported agency, while the Senate rejected a motion seeking a legislative probe, noting that the ICPC was already investigating the matter.

The Coalition argues that the issue should therefore not be reduced to a dispute involving one senator. It wants the ICPC to determine whether the allegations point to wider weaknesses or deliberate manipulation within the appropriation process.

The allegations contained in the petition have not been established by the ICPC or a court. The petition itself is a request for investigation, and any criminal liability would have to be established through due process.