Head of Service Admits Lapses as House Panel Uncovers Fake Agency Scheme

The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, has conceded that her office failed to conduct proper due diligence before issuing key administrative approvals to a non-existent federal body, the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC).

Appearing before a House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee probing the illegal creation and operation of fake government bodies, Walson-Jack acknowledged that the approvals were granted based on fraudulent documents, including a fake Establishment Act and a forged appointment letter.

The ongoing parliamentary investigation centers on allegations that the self-proclaimed Director-General of the PFIPC, Prince Adeyemi Adeniyi, fraudulently secured official recognition, manpower budget clearances, and recruitment waivers for the fake entity without any legal foundation or legislative backing.

Walson-Jack explained that representatives of the illegal agency attended the 2025 Annual Manpower Budget Defence, presenting documentation that appeared legitimate on the surface. However, under further scrutiny, she admitted that the documents lacked standard legal features, such as citation and gazette numbers, and that signatures attributed to top government officials did not match genuine samples. She described the breach as unprecedented in the history of the civil service and committed to reviewing internal procedures to prevent future occurrences.

The investigation also exposed administrative lapses within the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF). Officials from the OAGF revealed that an administrative code was generated for the fake agency and dispatched in a letter addressed to the Permanent Secretary of the State House. However, the correspondence was diverted by an official, identified as Bello Abdullahi, and handed directly to Adeniyi, preventing the fraud from being uncovered sooner.

Committee Chairman Yusuf Gagdi noted that police forensic reports have since confirmed the signatures on the agency’s founding documents were completely fabricated. He added that the panel has concluded the primary fact-finding stage of its probe and plans to publish preliminary findings shortly, with recommendations expected to include criminal prosecutions and administrative reforms.