THE Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HoS), Esther Walson-Jack, has said that her office neither allocated office space at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja nor deployed personnel to the disputed Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).
News Point Nigeria reports that Walson-Jack made the clarification during her appearance before the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the PFIPC scandal and the N1.3 billion allocated to the agency in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
“The request for deployment of officers was received and noted for consideration. However, there was no deployment of officers by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation to the council,” she said.
The Head of Service further stated that despite speculations that the council occupied office space at the Federal Secretariat Phase Three, her office was not responsible for any such allocation.
“While there is speculation that the council occupied office space in the Federal Secretariat Phase Three, we can state categorically that the office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation did not allocate any office space to the PFIPC,” she said.
According to Walson-Jack, the PFIPC had approached her office seeking approval for its organisational structure, but the request was rejected because the council failed to provide the required documents.
She explained that while the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation is responsible for approving the conditions of service of government agencies, there was no record of such a request from the council.
“Meanwhile, remuneration and emoluments of personnel are not under the purview of the office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation but under the purview of the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission,” she said.
According to her, the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission is responsible for the remuneration of political appointees and chief executive officers.
Walson-Jack added that new organisations must present either an establishment Act or other valid legal documents confirming their existence before requests of such nature can be processed.
She also told the committee that during the 2025 annual workforce projection and human resources exercise, PFIPC officials informed her office that they were already operating with personnel seconded from various government agencies.
According to her, the council requested an authorised establishment and a recruitment waiver to enable it engage substantive staff and informed the office that 14 officials were already on ground.
“We also wish to state that recruitment and placement of staff in agencies or into agencies is not under the purview of the office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation. It is the responsibility of the agencies to recruit and carry out proper placement of their staff,” she said.
Walson-Jack disclosed that the agency also submitted copies of its purported director-general’s appointment letter, as well as documents indicating that it had been assigned a budget code.
Her remarks come amid the controversy surrounding the PFIPC.
Adeyemi Adeniyi, the man who allegedly paraded himself as the director-general of the council, had claimed that the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, issued him an appointment letter.
He also alleged that he paid money to the former Speaker of the House of Representatives to secure the appointment.
However, Gbajabiamila has denied the allegations and has instituted legal action against Adeyemi, who was arrested in Osun State on July 14.
The Presidency has also denied the existence of the council and accused Adeyemi of forging the appointment letter.