Veteran journalist and Arise News anchor, Reuben Abati, has called on the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, to resign following her admission that due diligence was not properly conducted in the recognition of the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).
Speaking on The Morning Show on Arise Television on Thursday, Abati described the development as a major embarrassment to the Nigerian government, arguing that the failure of the Federal Civil Service to verify the authenticity of documents before establishing the agency and assigning personnel exposed serious institutional weaknesses.
His remarks followed Walson-Jack’s acknowledgment that the necessary verification processes were not thoroughly carried out before the PFIPC was recognized.
According to Abati, the admission amounts to a self-indictment and raises serious concerns about the competence of the Civil Service.
“The question of self-indictment and her admission of guilt and lack of diligence should be properly looked into because, in other countries, such an admission would have been followed by a letter of resignation,” he said.
He argued that the Head of the Civil Service had effectively admitted that her office failed the country in carrying out its statutory responsibilities.
Abati further alleged that the self-acclaimed Director-General of the PFIPC, Adeyemi Adeniyi, was assigned government staff without authorities first confirming the authenticity of the agency’s Establishment Act.
“They gave the self-acclaimed Director-General of the PFIPC, Adeyemi Adeniyi, staff without even establishing the authenticity of the Establishment Act, making him the Director-General of that ghost agency,” he stated.
The veteran broadcaster also called for a comprehensive audit of government agencies, questioning whether other ministries, departments, or agencies may have been created or funded based on fraudulent documentation.
“The investigation should determine how much deeper this has gone because it is an embarrassment to the Nigerian government. It exposes the way the government is being run. Resignation, in my view, will be the personal responsibility of Mrs. Walson-Jack,” Abati added.
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