Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Esther Walson-Jack, on Wednesday admitted that her office failed to carry out adequate due diligence before approving the staffing structure and recruitment waiver for the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), whose establishment documents have since been declared fake.
Appearing before the House of Representatives committee investigating the alleged fraudulent agency and the N1.3 billion earmarked for it in the 2026 Appropriation Act, Walson-Jack acknowledged that the Office of the Head of Service should have subjected the documents presented by the promoters of the council to stricter verification.
She explained that the approvals were granted after her office received what was presented as the PFIPC’s establishment Act and an appointment letter naming Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi as Director-General.
According to her, the documents, coupled with engagements with representatives of the organisation, formed the basis for issuing the authorised establishment and recruitment waiver.
However, she conceded that the verification process fell short.
“We take full responsibility,” Walson-Jack told lawmakers. “Having seen all the facts and examined the documents, we concede that greater due diligence should have been carried out before the approvals were granted.”
She noted that the office had been familiar with the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC), an ad hoc body, and that the similarity in documentation may have contributed to the oversight.
The Head of Service assured lawmakers that the procedures for approving government establishments and recruitment requests would be strengthened to prevent similar incidents.
“We will review our processes and make them more fraud-proof,” she said.
The PFIPC controversy has widened in recent weeks, drawing in the Presidency after Adeyemi allegedly claimed that his appointment as Director-General was approved by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.
The Presidency has dismissed the claim, insisting that the appointment letter bearing Gbajabiamila’s signature was forged. It also disclosed that the Chief of Staff had earlier petitioned security agencies over the alleged forgery.
Adeyemi was arrested on July 14 by operatives of the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) in Osun State as investigations into the alleged fake agency continue.
The House committee is probing how the purported council secured official recognition and a budgetary allocation despite questions surrounding its legal status, with lawmakers seeking to identify institutional failures that enabled the approvals.