Public complaint commission begs Senate to increase its 2026 budget

The Chief Commissioner, Public Complaint Commission (PCC), Bashir Abubakar has urged the National Assembly to increase the 2026 budget allocation to the commission to enable it carry out its mandate

The made the appeal while defending the commission’s 2026 budget before a joint sitting of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions and, the House of Representatives in Abuja, yesterday.

Abubakar said the proposed 2026 budget comprised of N50.362 billion, capital expenditure, N30.261 billion for overhead, and N28.393 billion for personnel cost, bringing the total of budget size to N109.917 billion.

The commissioner explained that the commission has over 4000 staff and inherited a lot of issues relating to staff salaries and welfare. He explained that the current leadership of PCC was sworn in on Sept. 25, 2024, alongside other federal commissioners.

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He added that at the time he assumed office, the 2025 budget proposal had already left the presidency for the National Assembly, adding that the commission inherited serious challenges.

According to him, those challenges triggered industrial action, including a three-week closure of the commission and demonstrations by staff to the National Assembly over funding shortfalls. “These issues arose largely from grossly inadequate financial backing for the commission.

He emphasised that poor funding had severely affected staff welfare and operational stability in all its 36 states’ offices and the FCT. “Upon assumption of duty, the leadership reviewed the commission’s accounts to identify solutions, particularly concerning unpaid staff benefits and other pressing financial obligations.

“The Director-General of Budget promptly wrote to the National Assembly seeking urgent financial intervention. “By legislative approval, the commission received an intervention fund of N40 billion; however, only N2 billion has been accessed to date.

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“As we speak, deficits still stand at about N16 billion in outstanding wage awards, promotion arrears, and minimum wage adjustments yet to be implemented,” he said. Abubakar explained that although the original 2025 budget proposal was N109 billion, the commission operated on an inherited N14.460 billion budget throughout the fiscal year.

He told the lawmakers that releases for January, February, and March were approximately N1.205 billion monthly, totaling N3.615 billion for the first quarter of 2025.

“The same pattern applied in the second and third quarters,” he added. He noted that the overall performance of 2025 budget was only about 25 percent when assessed against projected needs. The PCC commissioner, however, disclosed that the commission had received a total number of 714,648 cases from January to December 2025.

He explained that out of the number, 658,670 cases were successfully resolved, while 55,978 were still pending. The Chairman, Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, Neda Imasuen assured PCC that the committee would see how it can increase the budget allocation to enable PCC serve Nigerians well.

According to Imasuen, PCC has offices nationwide, the number of complaints and cases they handle because it’s free is enormous. Imasuen disclosed that the committee was working with PCC to amend the Act establishing the commission.