PASSIEC Petitions ICPC Over Alleged Budget Padding By Adeola Yayi

The controversy surrounding Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, has taken a fresh turn following a petition by the Pan-African Society for Social & Economic Change (PASSEC) to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over alleged irregularities in federal budgetary allocations linked to projects between 2023 and 2026.

‎PASSEC is asking the anti-corruption agency to investigate what it described as large-scale budget project insertions allegedly associated with Adeola, who represents Ogun West Senatorial District and chairs the Senate Committee on Appropriations.

‎The allegations, contained in a petition reportedly submitted to the ICPC in Abuja, include claims of vague and allegedly duplicated projects, questionable project locations, allocations to agencies outside their apparent mandates and payments allegedly made to companies the group wants investigators to examine.

‎The claims have not been established by the ICPC, a court or any other competent authority, and Sahara Weekly has not independently verified the allegations.

‎The Billion-Naira Question

‎According to reports on PASSEC’s petition, the organisation’s review of the 2023–2026 federal budgets identified projects it said could be traced to Adeola with a cumulative value running into hundreds of billions of naira, while other reports based on the petition put the total value of projects under scrutiny between ₦1.2 trillion and ₦1.5 trillion.

‎Another report on the petition put the alleged figure at more than ₦1.8 trillion.

‎The variation in the figures makes verification of the exact amount an important part of any investigation.

‎PASSEC reportedly said its review identified budget lines allegedly amounting to about ₦30 billion in 2023, ₦50 billion in 2024, ₦70 billion in 2025 and more than ₦100 billion in 2026, while alleging that the wider value of projects under scrutiny was significantly higher. 

‎The organisation is therefore asking the ICPC to establish what projects were actually appropriated, where they are located, whether they were executed, how much was released and who ultimately received the funds.

‎Projects, Agencies and the Verification Question

‎Among the examples cited by PASSEC was an alleged ₦6.7 billion allocation for projects in Ogun State under the Federal College of Freshwater Fisheries Technology, New Bussa, in the 2023 budget.

‎The group reportedly questioned, among other items, allocations of ₦200 million for tricycles and ₦300 million for minibuses for communities in Ogun State under an agency whose core mandate appears focused on fisheries.

‎PASSEC also reportedly cited the Federal Cooperative College, Ibadan, which it said hosted more than ₦7.7 billion in projects in 2023, including proposed ultra-modern town halls.

‎The organisation questioned whether such projects were properly justified, appropriately located, executed as appropriated and subjected to the required procurement processes.

‎These are questions that can ultimately be resolved only through documentary review, physical verification, procurement records and financial investigation.

‎18 Companies Under Spotlight

‎Another aspect of the petition concerns companies allegedly involved in the execution of some of the projects.

‎PASSEC reportedly identified a network of companies it described as suspicious or surrogate entities, alleging that some shared addresses and directors.

‎One report said the group identified 18 companies, while another report based on the petition referred to at least 13 companies, including EST Source Solutions Ltd., End Colours Ltd. and Cinedox Solution Limited.

‎PASSEC has reportedly asked investigators to establish the ownership structure of the companies, their directors, addresses, contracts received, amounts paid and the actual status of projects allegedly awarded to them.

‎The group also alleged that some budget descriptions were too vague to make meaningful public verification possible.

‎‘Where Are the Projects?’

‎At the heart of the controversy is a straightforward accountability question: Where are the projects?

‎PASSEC wants the ICPC to determine whether the projects contained in the budgets exist physically, whether they were completed or abandoned, whether the amounts appropriated correspond with the value of work delivered and whether payments were made in accordance with procurement and financial regulations.

‎The organisation has also called for a forensic examination of relevant budget lines and payments.

‎The ICPC itself has previously stated that scrutiny of budgetary processes and constituency projects forms part of its anti-corruption and preventive mandate. The commission says it investigates corrupt practices, prosecutes offenders and works to improve public-sector systems.

‎Yayi Responds

‎Adeola has reportedly responded to the petition by saying he would allow the ICPC investigation to take its course.

‎According to Peoples Gazette, when asked about the allegations, the senator said he had “nothing to say” and would allow the investigation to proceed, adding that the commission should investigate and prosecute him if it finds him wanting.

‎The response is significant because the allegations have emerged at a politically sensitive period for Adeola, who is the APC’s 2027 governorship candidate in Ogun State.

‎APC Campaign Council Rejects Allegations

‎Meanwhile, the Ogun State APC Campaign Council has rejected the allegations.

‎The council’s Media and Publicity Committee, through its chairman, Chief Kayode Odunaro, described the claims as false, baseless and politically motivated.

‎The council argued that no individual senator, including the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, has unilateral constitutional power to appropriate or implement public funds.

‎It also maintained that Nigeria’s federal budget goes through the National Assembly’s legislative process before presidential assent and that the Appropriations Committee operates within that broader process.

‎That position places the issue squarely before the relevant institutions: whether the budget lines identified by PASSEC were properly processed, who sponsored or proposed them, which agencies were responsible for implementation, what contracts were awarded and whether the projects were actually delivered.

‎Why the Allegations Matter

‎The controversy goes beyond the political fortunes of one senator.

‎If the projects identified by PASSEC exist and were properly executed, documentary and physical evidence could help establish that.

‎If some projects cannot be traced, were duplicated, improperly procured or paid for without corresponding delivery, an investigation could determine who was responsible and whether any laws were breached.

‎And if the allegations are ultimately found to be unsupported, the same investigation could equally provide an opportunity to clear the names of those accused.

‎For now, the central issues remain allegations contained in a petition — not proven findings.

‎The public questions are therefore clear:

‎Who proposed the projects?

‎Who approved them?

‎Which federal agencies implemented them?

‎Which companies received the contracts?

‎How much was released?

‎Where are the projects?

‎And were the projects delivered for the Nigerian people for whom the funds were appropriated?

‎Those are questions the ICPC and other relevant authorities may now have to answer if they proceed with the requested investigation.

‎For a political class already preparing for the 2027 Ogun governorship contest, the answers could carry significant public-interest implications.

‎But until the relevant authorities complete their work, the allegations remain allegations — and accountability requires evidence, not assumptions.