Didi Walson-Jack concedes her office failed to verify fake documents, as lawmakers declare the disputed appointment letter outright fake, not forged
Fresh details emerged on Wednesday in the House of Representatives‘ investigation into the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), as the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Esther Walson-Jack, admitted her office failed to carry out adequate due diligence before granting key approvals to the purported agency.
The matter remains under active investigation and is sub judice.
The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation also blamed one of its officials, Bello Abdullahi, for diverting an official letter that allegedly helped sustain the scheme.
What the House committee uncovered
The probe centres on allegations that Adeniyi Adeyemi, who presented himself as Director-General of the PFIPC, secured official recognition for the body using allegedly fake appointment letters, fabricated legislative documents and other forged government records, despite the agency having no legal backing.
The House Ad-Hoc Committee, chaired by Yusuf Gagdi, representing Kanke/Kanam/Pankshin Federal Constituency of Plateau State, said it had uncovered a web of fake appointment letters, fabricated legislative documents and fictitious government offices allegedly used to obtain official recognition from federal institutions.
Joshua Luka, Director of the Federal Project Financial Department at the OAGF, told the panel that his office deliberately addressed its response to the Permanent Secretary, State House, rather than the agency directly, as a safeguard.
“As part of our due diligence, what we did was to convey the administrative code to the Permanent Secretary, State House, and not to the so-called agency. The idea was that if it was not genuine, the whole thing would be unravelled,” Luka said.
The committee found the correspondence never reached the Permanent Secretary and was instead collected by Adeyemi. Gagdi also disclosed that the “Directorate of Administration and Support Services” named on the correspondence does not exist within the State House, and criticised OAGF officials for allowing Adeyemi to collect the letter directly.
Luka maintained the failure was an individual lapse rather than an institutional one, before identifying Bello, seated in the hearing room, as the official responsible. Bello admitted giving the letter to Adeyemi, though his explanation was cut short by Gagdi.
Head of Service concedes documents were fake
Walson-Jack told the panel her office processed the PFIPC’s paperwork after its officials attended the 2025 Annual Manpower Budget Defence presenting themselves as a newly established federal agency.
“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 in issuing an authorised establishment and a recruitment waiver to the PEAC/PFIPC,” she said, describing the situation as unprecedented in nearly a century of the Federal Civil Service.
Under further questioning, Walson-Jack said she personally identified the purported Establishment Act as inauthentic, drawing on almost 30 years of legal experience. She also agreed, after comparing documents, that the signature on Adeyemi’s appointment letter did not match other letters signed by Chief of Staff to the President Femi Gbajabiamila.
Gagdi said police forensic experts had already confirmed the signatures did not match and that there was no attempt to imitate the original.
“If something is forged, there will be an attempt to imitate the signature. But in this case, the signatures are completely different. So, I will not call it forged; I will say it is fake,” Gagdi said, adding that the purported Establishment Act lacked citation numbers, Supreme Court numbers, Gazette numbers or Gazette titles found in genuine legislation.
Walson-Jack said her office would review its internal processes. “We take full responsibility and we will definitely review our processes to make them more fraud-proof,” she said.
Police cite court order for Adeyemi’s absence
Deputy Commissioner of Police Olufemi Akinola, representing Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Disu, told the committee Adeyemi could not be produced as directed because he remains in custody under a subsisting court order, and asked the committee to seek a reproduction warrant.
The committee accepted the explanation and said it would pursue the necessary legal steps.
The committee said it has concluded most of its fact-finding phase and will present preliminary findings publicly next week, before submitting a final report to the House after lawmakers resume from recess.
