PFIPC Saga: Head of Service contradicts claims of official backing

The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Esther Walson-Jack, has said her office did not provide office space or assign any staff to the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).

She made the statement while appearing before the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the PFIPC scandal and the N1.3 billion allocated to the agency in the 2026 budget.

According to Walson-Jack, PFIPC had requested staff deployment, but no officers were assigned to the organisation.

She also dismissed claims that the council was given office space at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja.

“Our office did not allocate any office space to PFIPC,” she told the committee.
Walson-Jack explained that PFIPC had approached her office for approval of its organisational structure. However, the request was rejected because the council failed to provide the required documents.

She said her office is responsible for approving conditions of service for government agencies, but there was no record of PFIPC submitting such a request.

The Head of Service added that salaries and allowances of government workers are handled by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, while the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission is responsible for determining the pay of political appointees and agency chief executives.

She stressed that any new government organisation must present a valid law or official document proving its existence before requests can be processed.

Walson-Jack revealed that PFIPC officials attended a 2025 workforce planning event and said they were operating with staff seconded from other government agencies.

She said the council later requested approval for an official staff structure and a recruitment waiver, claiming that 14 officials were already working with the organisation.

However, she noted that recruiting and placing staff is the responsibility of individual agencies, not the Office of the Head of the Civil Service.

According to her, PFIPC also submitted documents, including an appointment letter for its director-general and records showing it had a budget code.

The controversy surrounding PFIPC began after Adeniyi Adeyemi, who claimed to be the council’s director-general, alleged that the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, appointed him to the position.

Adeyemi also claimed he paid money to secure the appointment.

Gbajabiamila has denied the allegations and filed a lawsuit against Adeyemi, who was arrested in Osun State on July 14.

The Presidency has also denied that PFIPC exists as a government agency and accused Adeyemi of forging the appointment letter.