By Sabiu Abdullahi
The House of Representatives has uncovered fresh details in its investigation into the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), as the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HoSF), Mrs Didi Walson-Jack, admitted that her office failed to conduct sufficient checks before approving requests linked to the agency.
Lawmakers are investigating allegations that Prince Adeyemi Adeniyi, who presented himself as the Director-General of the PFIPC, obtained official recognition for the agency with fake appointment letters, fabricated legislative documents and other forged government records, despite the organisation lacking legal backing.
The House Ad-Hoc Committee also said its investigation had exposed what it described as a network of fake appointment letters, fabricated legislative documents and fictitious government offices allegedly used to secure recognition from federal institutions.
The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) also admitted that an official diverted a letter meant for the Permanent Secretary, State House. The committee believes the action helped sustain the alleged scheme.
The committee, chaired by Yusuf Gagdi, who represents Kanke/Kanam/Pankshin Federal Constituency of Plateau State, has continued to examine how the purported agency secured approvals from several government institutions despite having no legal foundation.
Joshua Luka, Director of the Federal Project Financial Department in the OAGF, told the panel that the office issued an administrative code only after receiving what appeared to be an official request from the State House.
“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, however, rejected the explanation after evidence showed that the letter never reached the Permanent Secretary. Instead, it was reportedly collected by Adeniyi.
Gagdi further stated that investigators discovered the Directorate of Administration and Support Services, which appeared on 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 criticised the OAGF for allowing the suspect to collect official correspondence intended for another government office.
“You allowed the fraudulent DG to come and pick 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 unraveled immediately,” Gagdi said.
Luka maintained that the incident resulted from the actions of one official rather than a failure by the institution.
“The problem here was not an office 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 explained.
He identified the official as Bello Abdullahi, who admitted handing the letter to Adeniyi before the committee halted his explanation.
Appearing before the lawmakers, Walson-Jack acknowledged that her office relied on documents that were later discovered to be false.
“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 told the panel.
She explained that representatives of the purported agency attended the 2025 Annual Manpower Budget Defence with what appeared to be an Establishment Act and a letter appointing a Director-General. She said civil service procedures required such documents before an agency could obtain recruitment approval.
Walson-Jack described the incident as unprecedented.
“In over almost a century of the Federal Civil Service, we have never encountered a situation like the current one. Criminals always try to be a step ahead of law enforcement,” she said.
She later disclosed that she personally examined the documents and concluded that the supposed Establishment Act was not authentic.
“I requested to see the documents myself and I saw that the Establishment Act was not really an authentic Act. I have almost 30 years of legal practice experience and immediately I saw it, I knew it was not real,” she stated.
The HoSF also questioned the authenticity of the letter said to have been issued by the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President.
“I’m not a forensic expert, but I can clearly see that the signatures are not the same,” she added after comparing the signature on the appointment letter with other official documents.
Gagdi said forensic experts from the Nigeria Police Force had already confirmed that the signatures were different.
“The Police Forensic Department has already analysed the signatures and confirmed that those signatures are not the same. In fact, according to them, there was not even an attempt to imitate the signature,” he said.
He insisted that both the appointment letter and the purported Establishment Act were fake.
“You have clearly stated that you acted on false documents. You have now established, just like 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,” Gagdi declared.
The committee chairman also pointed out that the document presented as an Act of the National Assembly lacked essential features of valid legislation.
“Our Acts have citation numbers, Supreme Court numbers, Gazette numbers and Gazette titles. The Act presented here has none of those features,” he added.
Although she accepted responsibility for the shortcomings, Walson-Jack said officials acted in line with existing procedures based on the documents submitted.
“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 actually given us a false Establishment Act and what has now been proved to be a false letter of appointment,” she said.
She also assured lawmakers that measures would be introduced to strengthen internal safeguards.
“We take full responsibility and we will definitely review our processes to make them more fraud-proof,” she said.
The committee also heard from Deputy Commissioner of Police Olufemi Akinola, who represented the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu. He explained that Adeniyi could not be produced before the panel because he remained in lawful custody under a subsisting court order.
“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 constitutional oversight powers of the National Assembly and remains committed to cooperating with the committee in the discharge of its mandate.
“However, in this case, it will be appreciated if a reproduction warrant could be sought from a court of competent jurisdiction to enable the police to comply with this request,” Akinola said.
The committee accepted the explanation and said it would seek the necessary court order before the suspect is brought before the panel.
Lawmakers said the investigation is nearing completion. They plan to present preliminary findings to the public next week before submitting a final report to the House of Representatives after the National Assembly resumes from recess.
