The federal government granted a waiver to the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) to recruit 300 members of staff in August 2025, TheCable can report.
Mimi Abu, director, organisation design and development, in the office of the head of the civil service of the federation, conveyed the government’s approval for recruitment in a letter dated August 7, 2025.
The waiver was necessary because of the federal government’s embargo on general civil service recruitment.
DETAILS OF THE RECRUITMENT APPROVAL
In the two-page letter conveying the waiver, which was copied to the office of the secretary to the government of the federation, Abu said the PFIPC had been approved to recruit 10 directors on grade level (GL) 17 and 20 assistant directors on GL15.
There was also approval for the recruitment of 44 administrative officers, with 20 on GL08, 15 on GL09, four on GL12 and five on GL14.
Other approvals were:
45 planning officers
Six statisticians
32 commercial officers
22 investment promotion officers
26 accountants
10 legal officers
13 procurement officers
11 programme analysts
12 information officers
Nine executive officers (accounts)
Nine executive officers (GD)
Five data processing officers
Three confidential secretaries
Six technical officers (elect/mech/civil)
Seven data processing assistants
10 motor drivers/mechanics
This approval is based on and limited to the 2025 Approved Establishment position of the Agency, which covers the proposed recruitment,” Abu wrote in the letter.
You are please advised to: (a) obtain the clearance of the Budget Office of the Federation in line with the provisions of the extant circular issued by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation before the recruitment; (b) adhere to extant rules including the Federal Character principle while filling the vacancies; and (c) ensure that 5% of the recruitment is allocated to persons living with disabilities.
“Kindly note that: (a) on no account should the approval be varied or exceeded, in order not to increase the personnel costs unduly; (b) the officials of this office are required to beto be present during the exercise to ensure compliance with the waiver; and (c) the list of candidates who are successful in the engagement exercise should be forwarded to this Office for record purposes.
“Please accept the warm regards of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.”
Twenty-four hours after the letter’s issuance, Adeniyi Adeyemi, the director-general of PFIPC, published a note of appreciation on social media, thanking President Bola Tinubu for granting the waiver.
“Mr. President, we are growing because you believe in us,” the message reads in part.
Adeyemi also indicated that the agency had secured approval for “the establishment of PFIPC offices in all the 36 states of the federation” and “the rollout of 127 global offices across the world”.
“The visionary support strengthens our resolve to champion Nigerian enterprise and attract foreign direct investments across every border,” he said.
The controversy started on June 11, when Femi Gbajabiamila, chief of staff to the president, released a statement saying the PFIPC does not exist under the Tinubu administration
Adeyemi challenged the disclaimer and urged the president to establish an independent panel to investigate the matter.
TheCable subsequently reported that the council was allocated N1.3 billion — comprising N802.98m for personnel, N200 million for overheads and N300 million for capital — in the 2026 budget.
Adeyemi is also believed to operate from an office in the federal secretariat, Abuja, and has hosted diplomats and government officials, in addition to organising public events.
The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has filed an eight-count criminal charge against Adeyemi, according to Bayo Onanuga, presidential spokesperson.
In his statement challengingGbajabiamila’s disclaimer, Adeyemi alleged that the disagreement was triggered by his refusal to part with 48 percent of the agency’s take-off grant.
He also claimed to have paid N400 million to secure his appointment, with a remaining balance of N200 million.
Cc: The Cable