Civil Service Boss Admits Lapse in Fake Agency Scandal

The committee is probing allegations that fake appointment letters, fabricated legislative documents and fictitious government offices were used to obtain official recognition, recruitment approvals and access to government budgetary processes.

The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF), Mrs. Esther Didi Walson-Jack, has admitted that her office failed to carry out adequate due diligence before approving recruitment requests for two controversial agencies now at the centre of an alleged fake agency scandal.

Walson-Jack made the admission on Wednesday while appearing before the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the alleged creation of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) and the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), which lawmakers say were established using fraudulent documents and without legal backing.

The committee is probing allegations that fake appointment letters, fabricated legislative documents and fictitious government offices were used to obtain official recognition, recruitment approvals and access to government budgetary processes.

Addressing lawmakers, the Head of Service acknowledged that her office relied on documents later discovered to be fake.

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

According to Walson-Jack, officials representing the purported agencies appeared before her office during the 2025 Annual Manpower Budget Defence with what they presented as an Establishment Act and a letter appointing a Director-General.

She explained that under standard civil service procedures, newly created federal agencies seeking recruitment approval are required to present an enabling Act, the appointment letter of their chief executive and other supporting documents.

However, she admitted that closer scrutiny during the ongoing investigation revealed the documents were not authentic.

"I requested to see the documents myself and immediately I saw the Establishment Act, I knew it was not an authentic Act. I have almost 30 years of legal practice experience," she told the committee.

She also questioned the authenticity of the appointment letter purportedly issued from the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President, noting that the signatures differed from genuine official correspondence.

"I'm not a forensic expert, but I can clearly see that the signatures are not the same," she added.

The committee chairman disclosed that forensic analysis by the Nigeria Police had confirmed the signatures were fake and not those of the officials they purported to represent.

Lawmakers also stated that the supposed Establishment Act lacked the statutory features of legislation passed by the National Assembly, including citation numbers and Gazette references.

Despite acknowledging the lapse, Walson-Jack maintained that officials followed existing administrative 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 surprised that we were unable to detect that PEAC/PFIPC had presented false documents," she said.

She assured the committee that the Office of the Head of Service would strengthen its verification procedures to prevent a recurrence.

"We take full responsibility and will review our processes to make them more fraud-proof," she said.

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.

A former Director of Consolidation Account and Director of Federal Projects, Joshua Patmi Luka, told lawmakers that his office transmitted the administrative code to the Permanent Secretary, State House, as part of its verification process.

However, the committee alleged that the correspondence never reached the Permanent Secretary but was instead collected by the purported Director-General.

Lawmakers further revealed that the Directorate of Administration and Support Services referenced in the correspondence does not exist within the State House, raising further questions about how the approvals were processed.

Luka attributed the failure to the actions of an individual officer rather than an institutional lapse.

Representing the Inspector-General of Police, Deputy Commissioner of Police Olufemi Akinola informed the committee that the principal suspect, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, could not be produced because he remains in lawful custody under a subsisting court order.

The committee said it would conclude the clarification phase of its investigation before presenting preliminary findings next week and submitting its final report to the House of Representatives after lawmakers resume from recess.

Adeyemi, who previously accused the President's Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, of demanding a kickback from a government grant, is currently facing charges of forgery, impersonation and presenting himself as the head of a non-existent government agency.

He is also defending a ₦15 billion defamation suit filed by Gbajabiamila, who has denied the allegations and insists he has no relationship with the defendant.