PFIPC Scandal: Adeniyi Adeyemi’s Appointment Letter Fake – Head Of Service, Reps’ Panel

The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF), Esther Didi Walson-Jack, has admitted that her office failed to conduct adequate due diligence before issuing key approvals, including a recruitment waiver, to the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC).

Walson-Jack made the admission when she appeared before the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the activities of the alleged fake agency in Abuja on Wednesday.

The Head of Service acknowledged that her office relied on documents later discovered to be fake in granting an authorised establishment and recruitment waiver to the purported agency.

“We now, having seen all the facts and examined all the documents, concede that we ought to have carried out more due diligence in the discharge of our duties before issuing an authorised establishment and a recruitment waiver to the PEAC/PFIPC,” she told lawmakers.

Walson-Jack explained that officials of the purported agency presented themselves as representatives of a newly established federal body during the 2025 Annual Manpower Budget Defence exercise, accompanied by what appeared to be an Establishment Act and a letter appointing a Director-General.

She said that, under established civil service procedures, newly created agencies seeking to recruit staff are required to present an enabling Act, the appointment letter of the chief executive and other supporting documents before an authorised establishment can issue a provisional recruitment waiver.

The Head of Service said her office processed the request based on the documents presented, describing the case as unprecedented.

“In almost a century of the Federal Civil Service, we have never encountered a situation like the current one. Criminals always try to stay a step ahead of law enforcement,” she said.

However, under questioning by the committee, Walson-Jack admitted that the Establishment Act submitted by the purported agency was not authentic.

“I requested to see the documents myself, and I saw that the Establishment Act was not really authentic. I have almost 30 years of legal practice experience, and immediately I saw it, I knew it was not,” she said.

She also acknowledged discrepancies in the purported appointment letter allegedly issued by the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President, noting that it differed from genuine correspondence.

“I’m not a forensic expert, but I can clearly see that the signatures are not the same,” she stated.

The committee’s chairman, Hon. Yusuf Gagdi (APC, Plateau), disclosed that forensic analysis by the Nigeria Police had already confirmed that the signatures were entirely different.

“The police forensic department has analysed the signatures and confirmed that they are not the same. In fact, according to them, there was not even an attempt to imitate the signature,” Gagdi said.

He added that investigations had established that the appointment letter was fake and that the purported Act establishing the agency was equally fabricated.

“You have clearly stated that you acted on false documents. You have now established, as we have, that the letter of appointment of the so-called DG is not only forged; it is fake.

“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,” he said.

The committee further alleged that the fake Establishment Act lacked all the mandatory features of a valid Act of the National Assembly.

“Our Acts have citation numbers, Supreme Court numbers, Gazette numbers and Gazette titles. The Act presented here has none of those features,” Gagdi said.

Despite admitting the lapses, Walson-Jack maintained that the approvals were granted in accordance with existing procedures based on the documents presented to her office.

“Everything was done in accordance with the practice in the office. Out of the 88 ministries, departments and agencies processed, we are really surprised that we were unable to detect that PEAC/PFIPC had presented a false Establishment Act and a false letter of appointment, as has now been proved.

“We take full responsibility, and we will definitely review our processes to make them more fraud-proof,” she assured.

The committee also questioned officials from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation over the issuance of an administrative code to the purported agency.

Also appearing before the committee, former director of Consolidated Accounts and director of Federal Projects in the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Joshua Patmi Luka, explained that his office received what appeared to be an official request from the State House for an administrative code for the agency.

“As part of our due diligence, we conveyed the administrative code to the Permanent Secretary, State House, and not to the so-called agency. The idea was that if it were not genuine, the whole thing would be unravelled,” he said.

However, the committee faulted the process after evidence showed that the response letter never reached the Permanent Secretary but was instead collected by the alleged fake Director-General.

The chairman said investigations had revealed that the purported Directorate of Administration and Support Services referenced in the correspondence did not exist within the State House.

“There is no Directorate of Administration and Support Services in the State House. That office does not exist,” he said.

He accused officials of allowing the suspect to intercept official correspondence addressed to the Permanent Secretary.

“You allowed the fraudulent DG to come and collect the letter from your office instead of allowing someone from the Permanent Secretary’s office to receive it. If the letter had reached the Permanent Secretary, the fraud would have been unravelled immediately,” Gagdi said.

Responding, Luka insisted that the lapse was not institutional but attributable to an individual officer responsible for dispatching the correspondence.

“The problem here was not an institutional lapse; it was an individual lapse. Somebody was supposed to deliver that letter to the Permanent Secretary, State House, and it was not delivered there,” he said.

The committee maintained that the evidence before it showed a coordinated use of fake appointment letters, fabricated legislative documents and fictitious State House offices to obtain official government approvals and bypass budgetary processes.

It said its final report would detail its findings and recommendations after the investigation is concluded.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Police Force told the committee that Prince Adeyemi, the purported Director-General of the fake agency, could not be produced because he remains in lawful custody under a subsisting court order.

Representing the Inspector-General of Police, Deputy Commissioner of Police Olufemi Akinola assured lawmakers of the police’s continued cooperation with the National Assembly.

He, however, explained that producing the suspect would require an order from a court of competent jurisdiction.

“The Nigeria Police Force may not be able to produce the suspect as requested in view of the subsisting warrant.

“The Nigeria Police Force recognises the National Assembly’s constitutional oversight powers and remains committed to cooperating with the committee in the discharge of its mandate.

“However, in this case, it will be appreciated if a production warrant is obtained from a court of competent jurisdiction to enable the police comply with this request,” he said.

The committee had on Monday given the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, a 48-hour ultimatum to produce the self-acclaimed director-general of the council, Adeyemi Adeniyi, before the panel.

The panel directed the IGP, represented by Assistant Commissioner of Police Bashir Abdullahi, to ensure that Adeyemi appeared before the committee at noon on Wednesday to assist lawmakers in their investigation into the operations of the PFIPC.

The directive followed the Nigeria Police Force’s confirmation of key aspects of its criminal investigation, including petitions from the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President alleging that Adeyemi fraudulently presented himself as the Director-General of both the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) and the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC).