***Denies deploying Staff to Council

***Says SGF Office controlled office used by controversial Council

***Reps Summon SGF, Finance Minister, others

 

The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF), Didi Esther Walson-Jack, on Monday admitted that her office failed to adequately verify documents submitted by officials of the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC). 

 

She, however, insisted that the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) neither established the council nor deployed civil servants to it.

 

Walson-Jack disclosed that the office space allegedly occupied by the council in the Federal Secretariat was not allocated by the OHCSF but forms part of offices officially allocated to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF).

 

The HoS made the disclosures while appearing before the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the controversial inclusion of the unestablished Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council in the 2026 Appropriation Act.

 

The committee is chaired by the member representing Kanke/Kanam/Pankshin Federal Constituency of Plateau State, Yusuf Gagdi.

 

Presenting the position of her office, Walson-Jack explained that the OHCSF is responsible for strategic leadership, manpower planning, career management, organisational development and office allocation within the Federal Secretariat, but has no constitutional responsibility for establishing federal agencies.

 

According to her, records available to the office showed that the council applied on August 6, 2025, for approval of its organisational structure, but the request was rejected because it failed to submit the required establishment documents.

 

“The approval and establishment of agencies is not within the purview of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation,” she said.

 

She, however, explained that during the 2025 annual manpower budget defence exercise, representatives of the council, led by a woman who identified herself as Deputy Director of Administration, appeared before officials of the Organisation Design and Development Department and submitted documents, including a purported enabling legal instrument and the appointment letter of the Director-General.

 

Based on the documents presented, the request was processed alongside those of 87 other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and approved as part of the fourth batch of manpower requests on July 18, 2025.

 

She told lawmakers that the office later discovered that the document presented as the council’s enabling legal instrument was not authentic.

 

“It was observed that the document presented by the council as its enabling legal instrument appeared to carry the requisite features, which we later discovered were not genuine,” she said.

 

Responding to questions from lawmakers, Walson-Jack admitted that the office failed to thoroughly verify the authenticity of the documents before processing the request.

 

“We didn’t do the best in verifying the authenticity of the document submitted to us. That we admit,” she said.

 

She stressed, however, that the OHCSF did not include the council in the 2026 budget.

 

“My office didn’t put the council in the budget,” she added.

 

On allegations that civil servants were deployed to the council, Walson-Jack maintained that although the office received a request seeking deployment of officers to support its operations, no approval was granted.

 

“There was no deployment of staff by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation to the council. The request was received and noted for consideration, but no deployment was made,” she said.

 

She also dismissed claims that her office allocated office accommodation to the council.

 

According to her, the office in Phase Three of the Federal Secretariat listed by the council as its operational address is part of office space officially allocated to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation through a letter dated November 16, 2003, for the use of the SGF and presidential aides.

 

“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.

 

Following the presentation, committee chairman Yusuf Gagdi expressed concern over the circulation of fake establishment documents by the controversial council.

 

“The fake document that has to do with this agency is too much,” he said.

 

Gagdi subsequently directed the OSGF to appear before the committee to explain how office space under its control came to be used by the council.

 

“There was an approval given to them in 2003. How come the office space given to you is allocated to a fake agency? We are telling them to come here to explain,” he said.

 

The committee also summoned the Minister of Finance, the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Budget Office of the Federation, the Federal Character Commission and the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission to appear before it over issues relating to the operations and funding of the controversial council.

 

Earlier, Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, informed the committee that the anti-graft agency had already commenced investigation into the matter following a directive from President Bola Tinubu.

 

“We have commenced investigation as directed by the President and we have interrogated officials. Give us a few days to complete what we are doing and we will ensure we come back to present our findings,” Aliyu said.

 

Following the request, Gagdi granted the ICPC additional time and directed the commission to return to the committee on July 22 or 23 to present the outcome of its investigation.