Head of Civil Service Admits Failure in Due Diligence Over Fake Presidential Agency

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The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Esther Didi Walson Jack, has admitted that her office failed to carry out adequate due diligence before approving an establishment and recruitment waiver for a purported Presidential agency now at the centre of a forgery investigation.

Mrs Walson Jack made the admission while appearing before the House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee probing the alleged creation of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), also referred to as the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC), without any legal backing.

She told lawmakers that officials of the organisation presented what appeared to be an Establishment Act and a letter appointing a Director General during the 2025 Annual Manpower Budget Defence. Based on the documents submitted, her office granted an authorised establishment and recruitment waiver.

However, fresh findings before the committee revealed that the documents were forged.

"We now, having seen all the facts and observed all the documents, concede that we ought to have carried out more due diligence in discharge of the duties of the office in issuing an authorised establishment and a recruitment waiver to the PEAC/PFIPC," she told the committee.

According to the Head of Service, subsequent reviews showed that the purported Establishment Act lacked essential legal features, including citation and Gazette numbers, while the signatures on the alleged appointment letter did not match those of the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President.

She added that police forensic analysis also confirmed the signatures were completely different from the authentic versions.

Mrs Walson Jack acknowledged that although her office processed the request in line with existing procedures, the incident exposed serious gaps in the verification process.

She accepted responsibility for the oversight and assured lawmakers that new measures would be introduced to strengthen verification procedures and prevent similar incidents in the future.

The investigation also revealed that the fake agency secured approval to recruit about 300 personnel in 2025 despite a Federal Government embargo on recruitment into the civil service.

The House committee described the matter as part of a wider network of forged official documents allegedly used to obtain government approvals and authorisations.

The purported Director General of the agency remains in police custody on the orders of the court as investigations continue.

The committee is expected to release its preliminary findings before submitting a final report to the House of Representatives.

Credit: House of Representatives proceedings.

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