The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HoSF), Mrs Didi Esther Walson-Jack, has denied allegations that her office deployed civil servants, allocated office space or approved an organisational structure for the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), now at the centre of an ongoing House of Representatives investigation.
Key Highlights
- Head of Service denies deploying staff or allocating office space to the alleged PFIPC.
- Says only an authorised establishment and provisional recruitment waiver were processed after documents were submitted.
- Insists no organisational structure was approved for the agency.
- Describes the case as unprecedented in the history of the Federal Civil Service.
- House of Representatives continues investigation into the alleged fake government agency.
Speaking on Wednesday during the investigative hearing of the House committee probing the PFIPC Scandal, Walson-Jack clarified that the Office of the Head of the Civil Service merely processed an authorised establishment and a provisional recruitment waiver after receiving documents from representatives of the organisation.
She stressed that her office never recognised the council as a fully operational government agency by posting civil servants to it, providing office accommodation or approving its organisational framework.
“There was no deployment. We did not provide office accommodation, and we did not issue any organisational structure,” she told the committee.
Explaining the procedure for establishing new federal agencies, Walson-Jack said requests for an authorised establishment and a provisional recruitment waiver are processed simultaneously to enable newly created organisations recruit pioneer staff.
According to her, the authorised establishment defines the approved staffing requirements, while the provisional recruitment waiver allows an agency to obtain the necessary clearances from the Budget Office of the Federation and the Federal Character Commission before returning to the Office of the Head of the Civil Service for final recruitment approval.
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She explained that only two key documents are required before such requests can be processed: an official letter appointing the agency’s chief executive or principal officer, and the enabling law establishing the organisation.
The Head of Service noted that her office has handled similar requests from hundreds of federal agencies over the years without encountering a comparable situation.
“This is the first time in nearly a century of the Federal Civil Service that we have experienced a case like this. Like every society, criminals often try to stay ahead of law enforcement,” she said.
The House of Representatives committee is investigating the PFIPC Scandal over allegations that the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council falsely presented itself as a Federal Government agency and allegedly secured recognition from several public institutions through fraudulent means.
