PFIPC Probe Deepens as Head of Service Admits Lapses, Reps Expose Fake Documents Scheme

The House of Representatives’ investigation into the alleged fraudulent operations of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) gathered fresh momentum on Wednesday as the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Didi Walson-Jack, acknowledged that her office failed to conduct sufficient verification before granting official approvals to the controversial organisation.

The hearing also uncovered alleged administrative failures within the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF), where an official was accused of diverting an important government letter that investigators believe enabled the purported agency to continue operating.

Lawmakers are investigating allegations that Prince Adeyemi Adeniyi falsely presented himself as the Director-General of the PFIPC and allegedly secured official recognition for the organisation through fake appointment letters, fabricated legislative documents and other forged government records, despite the agency lacking any legal basis.

The House Ad-Hoc Committee is examining how several federal institutions accepted and acted upon the questionable documents, leading to the issuance of official approvals for the purported agency.

During the proceedings, the committee said its investigation had uncovered what it described as an elaborate network of fake appointment letters, fabricated Acts of Parliament and fictitious government offices allegedly deployed to deceive public institutions into recognising both the PFIPC and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC).

The committee also heard that the Office of the Accountant-General identified one of its officials, Bello Abdullahi, as the officer responsible for diverting correspondence originally addressed to the Permanent Secretary, State House.

Meanwhile, Walson-Jack admitted that her office approved an authorised establishment and recruitment waiver after relying on documents that have since been established to be false.

The hearing, chaired by the lawmaker representing Kanke/Kanam/Pankshin Federal Constituency of Plateau State, Yusuf Gagdi, focused on how the purported agency allegedly gained official acceptance without any legal foundation.

Giving evidence before the panel, the Director of the Federal Project Financial Department in the OAGF, Joshua Luka, explained how an administrative code was eventually issued to the agency.

According to him, the office deliberately addressed its response to the Permanent Secretary, State House, instead of sending it directly to the agency as part of its verification process.

“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.

However, committee members challenged the explanation after evidence showed the correspondence never reached the Permanent Secretary but instead ended up in the possession of Adeyemi.

Gagdi disclosed that investigators had also established that the Directorate of Administration and Support Services, which appeared on some of 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.

The committee chairman faulted officials of the Accountant-General’s Office for allowing the suspect to collect a letter 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,” he said.

Luka maintained that the failure resulted from the actions of an individual officer rather than a systemic breakdown.

“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.

When directed to identify the officer involved, Luka pointed to Bello Abdullahi, who admitted handing the letter to Adeyemi before the committee chairman halted further explanation.

Head of Service admits shortcomings

Appearing before lawmakers, Walson-Jack conceded that her office had acted on documents later discovered to be fraudulent.

“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.

She explained that representatives of the purported agency participated in the 2025 Annual Manpower Budget Defence, presenting themselves as officials of a newly established federal organisation and submitting what appeared to be an Establishment Act alongside a letter appointing a Director-General.

According to her, standard civil service procedures require any newly created government agency seeking recruitment approval to present an enabling Act, the appointment letter of its chief executive and other supporting documents before an authorised establishment and provisional recruitment waiver can be granted.

She said officials processed the request based on the documents submitted, describing the situation 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.

Under further questioning, however, Walson-Jack admitted that the supposed Establishment Act clearly lacked authenticity.

“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.

She also questioned the authenticity of the letter purportedly issued by the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President appointing the alleged Director-General.

Asked to compare documents signed by Femi Gbajabiamila with the appointment letter presented by the agency, she acknowledged noticeable differences.

“I’m not a forensic expert, but I can clearly see that the signatures are not the same,” she added.

Responding, Gagdi revealed that forensic experts from the Nigeria Police Force had already authenticated the committee’s findings.

“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 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 chairman further observed that the document presented as an Act of the National Assembly lacked the 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.

Despite admitting procedural shortcomings, Walson-Jack maintained that officials had followed established administrative practice 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 added.

She pledged to strengthen safeguards within her office.

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

Police explain suspect’s absence

The committee also heard from Deputy Commissioner of Police Olufemi Akinola, Deputy Director of the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre, who represented the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu.

The committee had earlier directed the Inspector-General to produce Adeyemi before lawmakers by Wednesday.

Akinola explained that the suspect remained in lawful custody under an existing court order, making compliance impossible without judicial approval.

“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 resolved to obtain the necessary court order.

Heated hearing

Wednesday’s proceedings were marked by several tense exchanges between lawmakers and senior government officials.

Committee chairman Gagdi repeatedly interrupted witnesses while they answered questions and, at one stage, used the gavel to prevent another committee member from making contributions during the session.

Several officials were unable to complete their testimonies before being stopped.

The committee said it had substantially concluded the fact-finding phase of its investigation and would release preliminary findings next week before submitting its final report to the House after lawmakers return from recess.

The House constituted the ad hoc committee following allegations that both the PFIPC and the PEAC operated as federal agencies without any legal foundation.

Earlier testimonies from the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Office of the Accountant-General, the Budget Office, the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigeria Police Force and other government institutions suggested that the organisations obtained official recognition using documents investigators now believe were fabricated.

Lawmakers said the final report would recommend legal action against individuals found culpable, alongside institutional reforms aimed at preventing similar cases of fraud within government agencies.