The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, has admitted that her office failed to carry out adequate due diligence before granting official administrative recognition to the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), a body now described by the Presidency as having no legal existence.

Walson-Jack made the admission on Wednesday while appearing before the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee investigating how the PFIPC secured access to federal administrative processes despite lacking any legal foundation.

Addressing lawmakers, the Head of Service acknowledged that her office relied on documents that appeared authentic at the time but were later discovered to be irregular.

“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 committee.

Her remarks represent the clearest official acknowledgment yet that procedural failures within the civil service contributed to the recognition of the controversial entity.

According to Walson-Jack, representatives of the purported council appeared before her office during the 2025 Annual Manpower Budget Defence exercise and presented several documents, including what was claimed to be the council’s Establishment Act and an appointment letter for its Director-General.

Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack addresses lawmakers during the House investigation into the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC).

Based on the documents submitted, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service issued an authorised establishment for the organisation and subsequently granted it a recruitment waiver.

However, she stressed that her office did not recruit, deploy, or assign any civil servants to the entity.

She further disclosed that after personally reviewing the documents in light of the ongoing investigation, it became clear that the purported Establishment Act was not genuine.

According to her testimony, forensic examinations conducted by the police have since confirmed that key signatures appearing on the documents did not match authentic government signatures.

The PFIPC has since been declared by the Presidency to be a non-existent or “phantom” organisation, with no legal backing through an Act of the National Assembly, presidential directive, executive order, or any other lawful instrument establishing it as a government agency.

Despite lacking legal status, the organisation reportedly obtained several forms of administrative recognition, including an official administrative code that enabled it to appear in the 2026 Federal Budget with an allocation of approximately ₦1.3 billion.

Officials from both the Budget Office of the Federation and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation have, however, informed lawmakers that no funds were released or spent under the allocation.

The House committee also heard that the self-proclaimed Director-General of the PFIPC, Adeniyi Adeyemi, allegedly sought an additional ₦27.3 billion as a take-off grant for the organisation.

The request was reportedly not approved.

Lawmakers are now seeking to determine how forged or irregular documentation enabled the organisation to gain access to multiple federal administrative processes before questions were raised about its legitimacy.

The investigation is being led by the House Ad Hoc Committee chaired by Hon. Yusuf Gagdi, which is examining possible procedural failures and identifying individuals who may have facilitated the approvals.

Adeyemi remains a central figure in the investigation but has yet to appear before the committee due to an existing court order.

Accepting institutional responsibility, Walson-Jack assured lawmakers that her office would strengthen its internal verification processes to prevent similar incidents in the future.

She pledged that vetting procedures would be reviewed and reinforced to ensure official approvals are subjected to more rigorous scrutiny before being issued.

The controversy surrounding the PFIPC has continued to generate national attention, raising broader concerns about document verification, institutional accountability, and governance within the federal public service.

PFIPC Scandal Deepens as Falana Questions How ‘Non-Existent’ Agency Allegedly Secured CBN Accounts, Office, 300 Staff and Billions in Budget

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Walson-Jack made the admission on Wednesday while appearing before the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee investigating how the PFIPC secured access to federal administrative processes despite lacking any legal foundation.

Addressing lawmakers, the Head of Service acknowledged that her office relied on documents that appeared authentic at the time but were later discovered to be irregular.

“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 committee.

Her remarks represent the clearest official acknowledgment yet that procedural failures within the civil service contributed to the recognition of the controversial entity.

Based on the documents submitted, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service issued an authorised establishment for the organisation and subsequently granted it a recruitment waiver.

However, she stressed that her office did not recruit, deploy, or assign any civil servants to the entity.

She further disclosed that after personally reviewing the documents in light of the ongoing investigation, it became clear that the purported Establishment Act was not genuine.

According to her testimony, forensic examinations conducted by the police have since confirmed that key signatures appearing on the documents did not match authentic government signatures.

The PFIPC has since been declared by the Presidency to be a non-existent or “phantom” organisation, with no legal backing through an Act of the National Assembly, presidential directive, executive order, or any other lawful instrument establishing it as a government agency.

Despite lacking legal status, the organisation reportedly obtained several forms of administrative recognition, including an official administrative code that enabled it to appear in the 2026 Federal Budget with an allocation of approximately ₦1.3 billion.

Officials from both the Budget Office of the Federation and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation have, however, informed lawmakers that no funds were released or spent under the allocation.

The House committee also heard that the self-proclaimed Director-General of the PFIPC, Adeniyi Adeyemi, allegedly sought an additional ₦27.3 billion as a take-off grant for the organisation.

The request was reportedly not approved.

Lawmakers are now seeking to determine how forged or irregular documentation enabled the organisation to gain access to multiple federal administrative processes before questions were raised about its legitimacy.

The investigation is being led by the House Ad Hoc Committee chaired by Hon. Yusuf Gagdi, which is examining possible procedural failures and identifying individuals who may have facilitated the approvals.

Adeyemi remains a central figure in the investigation but has yet to appear before the committee due to an existing court order.

Accepting institutional responsibility, Walson-Jack assured lawmakers that her office would strengthen its internal verification processes to prevent similar incidents in the future.

She pledged that vetting procedures would be reviewed and reinforced to ensure official approvals are subjected to more rigorous scrutiny before being issued.

The controversy surrounding the PFIPC has continued to generate national attention, raising broader concerns about document verification, institutional accountability, and governance within the federal public service.

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