From Victor Osula, Abuja
The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF), Mrs Esther Didi Walson-Jack, has admitted that her office failed to carry out adequate due diligence before issuing key approvals to the purported Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) and Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), acknowledging that officials relied on documents later established to be fake.
Appearing before the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the unlawful establishment of the two bodies, Walson-Jack accepted responsibility for the lapse, describing the incident as unprecedented in the history of the Federal Civil Service.
“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 lawmakers.
The Head of Service explained that representatives of the purported agency attended the 2025 Annual Manpower Budget Defence, presenting themselves as officials of a newly created federal body and submitting what appeared to be an Establishment Act, a letter appointing a Director-General and other supporting documents required for the processing of recruitment approvals.
She said based on the documents presented, her office issued an authorised establishment and a provisional recruitment waiver in line with existing civil service procedures.
We Processed Requests Based on Documents Presented
Walson-Jack explained that under established procedures, every newly created ministry, department or agency seeking approval to recruit staff must submit an enabling law, the appointment letter of its chief executive and other official documentation before the Office of the Head of the Civil Service can process its request.
She maintained that the approvals granted to the purported agency followed existing administrative procedures.
“In 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 stated.
However, after personally reviewing the documents during the ongoing investigation, the Head of Service admitted she immediately noticed glaring irregularities.
“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”, she added.
She also acknowledged discrepancies in the purported appointment letter allegedly 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 claimed.
Despite acknowledging the lapse, Walson-Jack maintained that officials acted in good faith based on the documentation submitted by the purported agency.
“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 assured lawmakers that the Office of the Head of the Civil Service would strengthen its internal verification procedures to prevent a recurrence.
“We take full responsibility, and we will definitely review our processes to make them more fraud-proof”, she pledged.
The committee also questioned officials of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation over the issuance of an administrative code to the purported agency, with lawmakers alleging that official correspondence meant for the Permanent Secretary, State House, was intercepted by the alleged fake Director-General.
Yusuf Gagdi, Chairman of the committee, told the Head of Service that forensic analysis conducted by the Nigeria Police Force had already confirmed that the disputed appointment letter was fake.
“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”, Gagdi said.
He informed the committee that investigations by the House, the police and the Office of the Head of the Civil Service had reached the same conclusion.
“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”, he declared.
The committee also disclosed that the purported Establishment Act submitted by the agency lacked citation numbers, Gazette references and other mandatory security features of a valid Act of the National Assembly.
The Gagdi-led committee is expected to conclude its investigation after final engagements with the remaining government agencies before presenting its report and recommendations, which are expected to include institutional reforms, administrative sanctions and possible criminal prosecutions.
