The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF), Mrs. Esther Didi Walson-Jack, has admitted that her office failed to conduct adequate due diligence before approving recruitment waivers and establishment requests linked to the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), an agency now alleged to have been created using fake documents.
Speaking before the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the alleged illegal creation of the PFIPC and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC), Walson-Jack acknowledged that officials relied on documents that were later discovered to be fake when processing the approvals.
She told lawmakers that, after reviewing the evidence presented during the investigation, her office accepted responsibility for not carrying out sufficient verification before granting the agency an authorised establishment and recruitment waiver.
According to her, the individuals behind the agency presented themselves during the 2025 Annual Manpower Budget Defence as representatives of a newly established federal institution. They submitted what appeared to be an enabling Act and an appointment letter for a Director-General, documents that ordinarily form part of the requirements for processing recruitment requests for new government agencies.
Walson-Jack described the incident as unprecedented, noting that in nearly a century of the Federal Civil Service, such a case had never been encountered. She added that the perpetrators exploited existing administrative procedures by presenting fraudulent documents.
Under questioning by the committee, the Head of Service admitted she immediately recognised that the purported Establishment Act was not authentic after personally reviewing it. Drawing from her legal background, she also pointed out inconsistencies in the appointment letter allegedly issued by the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President, saying the signatures did not match genuine official correspondence.
The committee disclosed that forensic analysis conducted by the Nigeria Police confirmed the signatures on the documents were fake. Lawmakers further stated that the purported Establishment Act lacked essential features of a valid Act of the National Assembly, including citation numbers and gazette references, strengthening the conclusion that the documents were fabricated.
Despite the lapses, Walson-Jack maintained that officials followed existing administrative procedures based on the documents submitted to them. She pledged to strengthen internal processes to make them more resistant to fraud and prevent similar incidents in the future.
The committee also questioned officials from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation over the issuance of an administrative code to the purported agency. Former Director of Consolidation Account and Director of Federal Projects, Joshua Patmi Luka, explained that the office had forwarded the administrative code to the Permanent Secretary at the State House as part of its verification process rather than sending it directly to the agency.
However, lawmakers faulted the procedure after investigations revealed that the letter never reached the Permanent Secretary. Instead, it was allegedly collected by the individual posing as the agency’s Director-General. Luka argued that the failure resulted from the actions of an individual officer responsible for dispatching the correspondence rather than a systemic failure within the office.
The committee maintained that its investigation had uncovered a coordinated scheme involving fake appointment letters, fabricated legislative documents and fictitious State House offices used to obtain official government approvals and budgetary processes. It said its final report would contain detailed findings and recommendations after the investigation is concluded.
Meanwhile, the Inspector-General of Police, represented by Deputy Commissioner of Police Olufemi Akinola, informed the committee that the alleged PFIPC Director-General, Prince Adeniyi Matthew Adeyemi, could not be produced before lawmakers because he remains in lawful custody under a subsisting court order. The police said compliance with the committee’s request would require a fresh order from a court of competent jurisdiction.
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