PFIPC scandal: No staff deployment, office space given to fake agency — HoS

The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Esther Walson-Jack, has firmly stated that her office provided no staff deployment or office accommodation to the organization identified as the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council. Appearing before the House of Representatives Committee investigating the agency, Walson-Jack clarified that her office's involvement was limited to processing requests for an authorized establishment and a provisional recruitment waiver.

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That’s all that we said as regards the issue of deployment. There was no deployment. The issue as regards office accommodation, we did not give office accommodation. The issue as regards organisational structure, we did not issue any organisational structure.

She explained that these approvals were granted based on the documents presented by the organization's representatives. Walson-Jack emphasized that her office did not issue any organizational structure for the council. The authorized establishment outlines the approved staffing structure, while the provisional recruitment waiver allows an agency to seek approvals from the Budget Office of the Federation and the Federal Character Commission before final recruitment clearance from the Head of Service's office.

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Over the years, this office has dealt with hundreds of requests from both permanent and ad hoc Federal Government agencies for authorised establishment and recruitment waivers. We have never encountered a situation like the current one.

Walson-Jack highlighted the rarity of the situation, noting that her office has handled similar requests from hundreds of federal agencies over the years without encountering a comparable case. She described the current circumstances as "one in almost a century in the Federal Civil Service," suggesting that sophisticated methods are being used to circumvent established procedures. The House committee is actively probing the alleged fraudulent activities of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.

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This is one in almost a century in the Federal Civil Service, and we believe that, like in every society, criminals always try to stay a step ahead of law enforcement.