The controversy surrounding the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) took a fresh twist on Monday as the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HOSCF), Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, told the House of Representatives that her office never allocated office accommodation to the council.
Appearing before the House Ad-hoc Committee investigating the legality of the PFIPC, Walson-Jack said records in her office showed that the office space reportedly occupied by the council at the Federal Secretariat, Phase III, was officially allocated to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), not the council.
The committee is probing the circumstances surrounding the establishment of the PFIPC following allegations that its purported Director-General, Adeyemi Adeniyi, falsely presented himself as a presidential appointee using allegedly forged documents.
Walson-Jack told lawmakers that although her office is responsible for allocating office accommodation within the Federal Secretariat, no office was ever assigned to the PFIPC.
“There is speculation that the council occupied office space in the Federal Secretariat, Phase III. 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 council,” she said.
She explained that the office being used as the council’s address was part of the accommodation officially allocated to the OSGF for its use and that of presidential bodies.
The Head of Service also disclosed that the PFIPC had applied for approval of its organisational structure and authorised establishment but initially failed to provide the required supporting documents, forcing her office to defer action on the request.
According to her, during the 2025 Annual Manpower Budget Defence Exercise, the council later submitted additional documents, including the appointment letter of its Director-General and details of its mandate, after which the request was processed alongside those of 87 other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
She said an authorised establishment providing for 314 positions was subsequently issued to the council, followed by a recruitment waiver.
However, Walson-Jack stressed that her office neither posted staff to the council nor approved the recruitment of any personnel.
She maintained that recruitment into federal agencies is handled by the agencies themselves, while the establishment and supervision of presidential councils do not fall under the mandate of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
The Head of Service urged the lawmakers to seek further clarification from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and other relevant agencies regarding the establishment and operations of the PFIPC.
The House Ad-hoc Committee is continuing its investigation into the legal status, funding and activities of the council amid allegations of fraud and procedural breaches surrounding its establishment.
