Revealed: “Fake” Presidential Council Got Approval To Recruit 300 Staff

As controversy over the legality of controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) deepens, it has been revealed how an official memo approved recruitment of 300 personnel for the agency.

Fresh documents obtained revealed that the Federal Government approved the waiver in August 2025 for the agency to recruit 300 personnel, despite an existing embargo on general recruitment into the federal civil service.

The approval, contained in a two-page letter dated August 7, 2025, was signed by Mimi Abu, Director of Organisation Design and Development in the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, and copied to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

The waiver authorised the council to recruit staff across multiple cadres, including 10 directors on Grade Level 17, 20 assistant directors on Grade Level 15, 44 administrative officers and  45 planning officers.

Others were 32 commercial officers, 22 investment promotion officers, 26 accountants, 10 legal officers, 13 procurement officers, 11 programme analysts, 12 information officers, executive officers, technical officers, data processing personnel, confidential secretaries, and motor drivers/mechanics.

According to the letter, the approval was strictly tied to the agency’s 2025 approved establishment.

“This approval is based on and limited to the 2025 Approved Establishment position of the Agency, which covers the proposed recruitment,” the letter stated.

The Office of the Head of the Civil Service directed the council to obtain clearance from the Budget Office of the Federation before commencing recruitment, comply with the Federal Character principle, and reserve five per cent of the positions for persons living with disabilities.

It further warned that the approved number of recruitments must not be exceeded, while officials from the Office of the Head of the Civil Service were to monitor the exercise to ensure compliance.

Just a day after the waiver was issued, PFIPC Director-General Adeniyi Adeyemi took to social media to publicly thank President Bola Tinubu for the approval.