The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Didi Walson-Jack, has formally admitted before the House of Representatives that her office failed to conduct proper due diligence before issuing key recruitment waivers and administrative approvals to a non-existent federal agency.
Appearing on Wednesday before the House Ad-Hoc Committee probing the creation of the purported Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC), Walson-Jack conceded that the agency operated entirely on forged documents.
The committee, chaired by Hon. Yusuf Gagdi, uncovered a web of fabricated legislative Acts, fake appointment letters, and fictitious State House offices used by the prime suspect, Prince Adeyemi Adeniyi, to secure official government recognition.
Head of Service concedes due diligence breakdown
Addressing the panel, Mrs Walson-Jack acknowledged that civil service officials approved an authorised establishment and recruitment waiver for the fake agency after its representatives presented forged paperwork during the 2025 Annual Manpower Budget Defence.
“We now, having seen all the facts and observed all the documents, concede that we ought to have carried out more due diligence in the discharge of the duties of the office,” Walson-Jack told the panel. “In over almost a century of the Federal Civil Service, we have never encountered a situation like the current one. Criminals always try to be a step ahead of law enforcement.”
When pressed by lawmakers, the Head of Service admitted that upon personal inspection, the supposed “Establishment Act” lacked basic statutory features of authentic National Assembly legislation. She also confirmed that the signature of the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, on Adeyemi’s appointment letter was completely fake.
Police forensic experts further confirmed to the panel that the signatures showed no attempt at imitation and were entirely fraudulent.
Inside job at the Accountant-General’s office
The probe took a dramatic turn when officials from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) were grilled over how an official administrative code was issued to the fake council.
Director of the Federal Project Financial Department, Joshua Luka, disclosed that the OAGF had addressed its response directly to the Permanent Secretary of the State House to verify the request. However, the letter never reached its destination.
Instead, an OAGF staff member, identified as Bello Abdullahi, bypassed official protocol and handed the letter directly to the suspect, Adeyemi.
Committee Chairman Yusuf Gagdi faulted the OAGF for the breach, revealing that the “Directorate of Administration and Support Services” listed on the correspondence does not exist within the State House structure.
Police retain suspect under court order
The Inspector-General of Police, represented by Deputy Commissioner of Police Olufemi Akinola of the NPF National Cybercrime Centre, informed the panel that Adeyemi could not be produced before the committee because he remains in lawful police custody under a subsisting court remand warrant.
The committee accepted the explanation and agreed to obtain a formal reproduction warrant from a competent court to secure the suspect’s appearance.
The House Ad-Hoc Committee announced that it has concluded the fact-finding phase of the investigation and will publish preliminary findings next week before submitting its final report to the House upon resumption from recess.
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