The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HoS), Mrs. Didi Walson-Jack, has admitted that her office failed to carry out sufficient due diligence before granting approvals to the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), as the House of Representatives intensified its probe into the alleged fake government agency.
At the same hearing on Wednesday, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) identified one of its officials as the staff member who diverted an official letter that investigators say enabled the purported agency to gain government recognition.
The House Ad-Hoc Committee investigating the alleged creation of the PFIPC and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) without legal backing said it had uncovered what it described as a network of fake appointment letters, fabricated legislative documents and fictitious government offices allegedly used to secure approvals from federal institutions.
The investigation centres on allegations that Prince Adeyemi Adeniyi, who presented himself as the Director-General of the PFIPC, obtained official recognition for the agency using fake appointment letters, fabricated Acts of the National Assembly and other forged government documents, despite the agency having no legal foundation.
Chairman of the committee, Rep. Yusuf Gagdi, said investigations showed that several government institutions processed and acted on the documents, leading to the agency receiving official approvals.
Appearing before the panel, Director of the Federal Project Financial Department at the OAGF, Joshua Luka, explained that his office issued an administrative code only after receiving what appeared to be an official request from the State House.
According to Luka, the response was deliberately addressed to the Permanent Secretary, State House, rather than the purported agency as part of the office’s verification process.
However, the committee found that the correspondence never reached the Permanent Secretary but was instead collected by the alleged Director-General, Adeyemi.
Gagdi further revealed that the Directorate of Administration and Support Services, which appeared on the correspondence, does not exist within the State House, faulting officials for allowing the suspect to receive a letter meant for another government office.
Luka maintained that the incident resulted from the actions of an individual staff member rather than an institutional failure, identifying Bello Abdullahi as the official responsible for handling the correspondence. Abdullahi admitted handing the letter to Adeyemi during the hearing.
In her testimony, Walson-Jack acknowledged that the Office of the Head of the Civil Service relied on documents that have now been established to be false before issuing an authorised establishment and recruitment waiver for the agency.
She explained that officials of the purported agency attended the 2025 Annual Manpower Budget Defence, presenting what appeared to be an Establishment Act and a letter appointing a Director-General, documents that met the standard requirements for processing newly established agencies.
“We now concede that we ought to have carried out more due diligence in issuing an authorised establishment and recruitment waiver,” she told the committee.
The Head of Service disclosed that after personally reviewing the documents, she immediately recognised that the supposed Establishment Act was not authentic.
Drawing from nearly three decades of legal practice, she also questioned the authenticity of the appointment letter purportedly issued by the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President, noting that the signature differed from genuine official documents.
Responding, Gagdi disclosed that forensic analysis conducted by the Nigeria Police Force had confirmed the signatures on the appointment letter did not match those of the genuine signatory.
He maintained that both the appointment letter and the alleged Establishment Act were fake, noting that the legislative document lacked essential features such as citation numbers and official gazette references required for valid Acts of the National Assembly.
Despite admitting the shortcomings, Walson-Jack insisted that officials followed existing procedures based on the documents submitted and pledged that her office would strengthen its internal verification processes to prevent similar incidents.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Police Force informed the committee that Adeyemi could not be produced before lawmakers because he remains in lawful custody under a subsisting court order.
Representing the Inspector-General of Police, Deputy Commissioner of Police Olufemi Akinola said the police remained committed to cooperating with the House but requested that the committee obtain a reproduction warrant from a competent court before the suspect could be released to appear before lawmakers.
The committee accepted the explanation and said it would take the necessary legal steps.
The hearing was marked by tense exchanges between lawmakers and senior government officials, with Gagdi repeatedly interrupting witnesses during questioning.
The committee said it has concluded most of its fact-finding exercise and will present its preliminary findings next week before submitting a final report to the House of Representatives after lawmakers resume from recess.
Lawmakers are expected to recommend legal action against individuals found culpable in the alleged fraud, alongside reforms aimed at preventing similar cases in the future.
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