ABUJA, Nigeria — The office space used by the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja was officially allocated to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Esther Walson-Jack, has told the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the PFIPC controversy.
Walson-Jack appeared before the committee on Monday to provide testimony on the activities of the controversial council, including the N1.3 billion reportedly earmarked for it in the 2026 Appropriation Act and its use of government facilities.
Addressing reports that the PFIPC operated from the Federal Secretariat Complex in Abuja, Walson-Jack categorically denied that her office allocated office accommodation to the council. She explained that the office address reportedly used by the council forms part of office accommodation officially allocated to the OSGF.
“The office space indicated as the Council’s fiscal address in the Federal Secretariat Phase III is part of the office spaces allocated to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation,” Walson-Jack told the committee. She added that a letter dated 16 November 2023 had been issued to re-allocate the space for the use of the OSGF and Presidential Aides.
The Head of the Civil Service further disclosed that her office had no constitutional mandate to establish government agencies, noting that such responsibilities rested with relevant authorities. She also denied allegations that civil servants were deployed to the council by her office.
“We wish to state that there was no deployment of staff by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation to the council,” she said. She explained that the approval and establishment of agencies is not within the purview of the OHCSF, though the office is responsible for approving the administrative structure of federal government agencies.
The OHCSF disclosed that the council applied for approval of its organisational structure on August 6, 2025, but the request was not granted because the required supporting documents were not provided. The committee was also told that the council requested approval for 314 positions, comprising 14 existing officers and 300 additional positions, which was later issued as part of manpower approvals granted to federal agencies.
However, the OHCSF revealed that it subsequently discovered irregularities in documents presented by the council as its legal foundation, noting that “the document presented by the council as its enabling law or legal instrument did not really carry the requisite features.”
The House panel is examining how the body came to occupy office space within the Federal Secretariat and the basis for the N1.3 billion allocation approved for it in the national budget. The investigation follows growing public scrutiny after reports emerged questioning the authenticity of the council and its activities.
