The Head of the Civil Service (HoS) of the Federation, Mrs Didi Esther Walson-Jack, yesterday told the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee probing the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) that her office issued an “authorised establishment” to the ‘phantom’ council based on documents submitted.

An authorised establishment refers to an administrative approval given to an organisation by a relevant government body to operate or carry out specific activities having met certain legal or regulatory requirements.

Walson-Jack said the documents included a purported letter of appointment for the Director-General of the fictitious council, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, and a supposed Act establishing it.

She, however, admitted due diligence would have exposed the documents, noting that an internal review triggered by the House investigation later revealed that they were fake.

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“When this matter came up, I requested to see the documents myself and discovered that the establishment Act was not really an authentic Act,” she told lawmakers.

The committee is investigating how the PFIPC secured office accommodation at the Phase III Federal Secretariat and made its way into the 2026 Appropriation Act with over N1.3 billion allocation.

The Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, had issued a disclaimer, dismissing the existence of the PFIPC, but Adeyemi countered, describing it as “a cloud of public misrepresentation, institutional denial and a deliberate attempt to silence legitimate questions that concern matters of national interest.”

Consequently, the Presidency, in a July 1 statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, tagged Adeyemi a “con artist” and stated that the police had filed a criminal charge against him.

The statement was, however, silent on the inclusion of the disputed council in the budget and an alleged sum of N400 million Adeyemi claimed to have paid Gbajabiamila by proxy to facilitate his appointment. The former Speaker of the House of Representatives had denied any association with the embattled DG and filed a N15bn defamation suit.

Findings further revealed that Adeyemi got approvals for the employment of 300 staff members and opened domiciliary accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Appearing before the committee chaired by Rep. Yusuf Gagdi (APC, Plateau) on Wednesday, Walson-Jack explained that the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) routinely processes requests from newly established agencies upon presentation of an enabling Act and letters of appointment, adding that officials acted on the documents submitted by representatives of the PFIPC.

“Mr Chairman, in other words, what we are saying is that my office received the letter of appointment and the Establishment Act and based on those documents and also based on the interaction with the representatives of the PEAC and PFIPC, we went on to issue the authorized establishment and later the Recruitment Waiver.

“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.

Walson-Jack explained that the Presidential Economic Advisory Council, which had existed as an ad hoc body, might have contributed to the confusion.

“We do know that the PEAC used to exist as an ad hoc organisation on its own, and the documents that were presented had PEAC/PFIPC. However, as I said, due diligence may have detected whether those documents were actually authentic,” she added.

The HoS said all approvals earlier granted to the PFIPC had been withdrawn following the discovery that the documents were not genuine.

The committee, however, questioned why the OHCSF failed to detect the alleged forgery before granting official approvals.

Chief of Staff’s signature fabricated – Panel

During the hearing, Gagdi presented what he described as authentic correspondence from the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President alongside the appointment letter submitted by the PFIPC and asked the Head of Service to compare the signatures.

Responding, Walson-Jack acknowledged the discrepancies.

“I can clearly see that the signatures are not the same,” she said.

Gagdi said a forensic examination earlier conducted by the Nigeria Police Force had also established that the signatures did not match.

He said the findings showed that the appointment letter was not merely forged but entirely fabricated.

“If something is forged, there will be an attempt to imitate the original signature. In this case, there was not even an attempt. The signatures are completely different,” he said.

The lawmaker further told the committee that the purported Act establishing the agency lacked the basic features of a valid Act of the National Assembly, including an Act number, gazette number, gazette title and other statutory identifiers.

“The Act presented to government institutions was totally mutilated. It has none of the features of a genuine Act of the National Assembly,” Gagdi said.

According to him, the committee has established that both the appointment letter and the purported establishment Act relied upon by government institutions were fake.

He added that the OHCSF acted on the strength of the documents presented to it and had acknowledged the lapse in its internal processes.

The committee subsequently excused the HoS after directing her to submit an updated written memorandum to aid its investigation, which is expected to culminate in a report to the House.

‘DG collected State House verification letter from OAGF’

The committee further stated that Adeyemi personally collected a verification letter meant for the State House from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF). The revelation came during the appearance of officials of the OAGF before the committee. The officials told lawmakers that after receiving a request for an administrative code purportedly from the State House, the OAGF wrote to the Permanent Secretary, State House, to verify the request before taking further action.

However, Gagdi said the verification process was compromised because the response never reached the State House.

Instead, he said, the same individual who had requested the administrative code on behalf of the purported agency collected the letter from the OAGF.

“The same self-appointed Director-General wrote a letter using a non-existent directorate in the State House requesting an administrative code. Your office replied, but instead of allowing the letter to get to the State House, the same person came and collected it. How does that happen?” Gagdi asked.

The chairman disclosed that the committee’s investigation had established that the letter requesting the administrative code was forged and referenced a Directorate of Administration and Support Services that does not exist in the State House.

He also said the purported signatory to the letter, identified as Akambi Adewale, was unknown to the Presidency.

According to Gagdi, the administrative code was a crucial requirement for processing budgetary allocations, warning that the failure to ensure proper verification allowed the alleged fraud to progress through government institutions.

The OAGF officials, however, attributed the incident to what they described as an individual lapse by the officer handling the correspondence rather than a systemic failure within the office.

Police fail to produce Adeyemi, seek court warrant

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Police Force on Wednesday failed to produce Adeyemi before the committee. Instead, police representatives told the committee that they would require a court warrant authorising the suspect’s release from custody before they could comply with the House’s directive.

The committee had on Monday directed the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Olatunji Disu, to produce Adeyemi before the lawmakers by noon on Wednesday to assist in the ongoing investigation.

However, when the committee reconvened, the police informed the lawmakers that Adeyemi was being held pursuant to a valid court remand order and could not be brought before the panel without the necessary legal authorisation from the court.

The police explained that while they remained committed to cooperating with the House investigation, compliance with the committee’s directive must not conflict with the existing judicial order.

They therefore requested the committee to provide the appropriate court-backed warrant or written legal authorisation to enable them produce the suspect without violating the remand order.

Report due next week

The committee says it has uncovered an extensive case of document fraud and will conclude its investigation after conducting final verification with the remaining government agencies.

Gagdi, who addressed journalists at the close of Wednesday’s hearing, said the panel had made significant progress after taking submissions from key government institutions linked to the matter.

He said the committee was unable to hear directly from Adeyemi because he remains in custody under a subsisting court order, adding that the panel had respected the judicial process while continuing its investigation.

Gagdi said documentary evidence obtained so far pointed to widespread forgery, including the creation and use of a purported Directorate of Administration and Support Services under the State House, which the committee’s investigation found non-existent.

He added that the committee would carry out further in-house verification of the documents and hold cross-check sessions with the remaining agencies to clarify outstanding issues and ensure all parties were given fair hearing.

“The committee has uncovered what appears to be an extensive act of document fraud. We will conclude the investigation phase by conducting follow-up sessions with the remaining agencies to consolidate our findings and ensure due process is observed,” he said.

According to him, the committee will brief the public on its findings next week before submitting a comprehensive report to the House of Representatives for legislative action.

He reaffirmed the committee’s commitment to conducting what he described as a thorough, impartial and transparent investigation in the interest of justice, accountability and the protection of public institutions.

CSOs seek audit of MDAs, warn of more fake agencies

The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) has called for a nationwide audit of federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), warning that the ongoing probe into the PFIPC might not be an isolated case.

Speaking to Daily Trust on Wednesday, the CDD Director, Dr. Dauda Garuba, said the fact that several government institutions acted on forged documents exposed serious weaknesses in the country’s verification and approval processes.

“It is not impossible because what Nigeria has become is a place where what people before now would call impossible are now happening,” he said when asked whether other fake agencies could be operating within the government.

Garuba said the scandal underscored the need to streamline government institutions and strengthen verification mechanisms to prevent similar occurrences.

He said beyond fixing the immediate problem, the government should revisit efforts to harmonise overlapping agencies, arguing that Nigeria’s expanding bureaucracy had created opportunities for abuse.

“We need a very lean government. Over time, departments, agencies, panels and committees have continued to spring up until they become institutions that drain government resources,” he said.

He advocated for an independent forensic audit of government agencies by the Chartered Institute of Forensic and Certified Fraud Investigators of Nigeria, saying the body could help verify the legal status of existing institutions and identify those that were either illegally created or had outlived their usefulness.

Describing the PFIPC saga as “a scandal of international standing”, Garuba also urged the government to ensure that those found culpable were held accountable.

“If you have identified something wrong, whether done in error or deliberately, the government should do the needful. It is also necessary that a serious investigation be carried out and those found culpable should face the music,” he said.

Similarly, the Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, said the alleged phony council had exposed deep flaws in Nigeria’s public service verification and approval system.

He noted that the explanations by government institutions that they acted on documents presented to them reflected a broader crisis of institutional integrity.

According to him, the scandal has eroded confidence in Nigeria’s public institutions both locally and internationally.

“This has further deepened the absence of institutional integrity, institutional independence and institutional responsibility. Our public institutions are now facing credibility questions because of the way this matter was handled,” he said.

He argued that the controversy could affect Nigeria’s international reputation, saying foreign governments and investors might become more cautious in dealing with Nigerian public institutions.

Rafsanjani called for an independent, transparent and open investigation into the matter, insisting that only a credible probe would restore public confidence.

“If the government allows an independent and transparent investigation, Nigerians and the international community will regain confidence in our institutions. But any attempt at a cover-up will only deepen the damage,” he said.

Rafsanjani also warned that the operation of the PFIPC might not be an isolated case, urging the government to carry out a comprehensive audit of MDAs.

He said the fact that the purported council allegedly found its way into government systems, including budget documents, suggested there could be other questionable agencies operating within the public sector.

“For a fake agency to find its way into the CBN portal and the federal budget means there could be more agencies that are either non-existent or dormant but continue to receive public funds,” he said.

He urged the government to conduct a thorough review of existing agencies to identify any institutions operating without proper legal backing.

Rafsajani asked senior public officials linked to the approvals granted to the council to take responsibility for the scandal, adding that public officers in countries with strong accountability systems would resign over such lapses.

He called on the HoS, the Director General of the Budget Office, the Accountant-General of the Federation and officials responsible for the budget process in the National Assembly to accept responsibility.

“In a decent country, those responsible for these lapses would resign and apologise to the nation. Accountability is necessary if we want Nigerians and the international community to regain confidence in our public institutions,” he said.

He maintained that holding public officials accountable would send a strong signal that abuses of public institutions would no longer be tolerated.

Political analyst Jide Ojo described the unfolding PFIPC scandal as evidence of deep-rooted institutional corruption, arguing that the alleged mastermind could not have operated without the backing of influential insiders within the government.

Ojo said the ease with which the purported council secured recognition from several government institutions suggested the existence of “enablers and facilitators” within the public service.

“I do not believe he acted alone. What I could deduce is that this is an institutional corruption issue. There are enablers and facilitators within the corridors of power,” he said.

According to him, the fact that documents allegedly passed through institutions such as the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Budget Office, the Central Bank of Nigeria and other government bodies without detection raised serious questions about the integrity of internal control mechanisms.

He also expressed concern that other fictitious agencies could still be operating within the government.

Ojo maintained that the House investigation should go beyond establishing that forged documents were used and identify public officials who might have facilitated the alleged fraud.

“The point is that the guy could not have navigated that space without having some enablers within the system. The challenge is to identify them and bring them to account,” he said.

He added that while the House committee had made significant findings, those responsible for enabling the alleged fraud should also be investigated and prosecuted if found culpable.