The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Esther Walson-Jack, has admitted that her office failed to carry out adequate checks before recognising the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).
She accepted responsibility for the lapse during her appearance before the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the alleged operation of the council.
Head of Service admits verification failure
Walson-Jack told lawmakers that officials relied on documents that appeared genuine without conducting thorough verification. She explained that the documents carried the State House logo and a signature that looked authentic, leaving her office with no immediate reason to question them.
However, she said further checks later exposed irregularities.
Police findings exposed forged documents
The Head of Service said investigators compared the documents with genuine State House correspondence. She added that police forensic analysis also revealed that the signatures did not match official records.
The findings confirmed that the documents were not authentic.
Office to strengthen verification process
Walson-Jack assured the committee that her office would improve its internal verification procedures to prevent similar incidents.
“Due diligence was not thoroughly carried out to recognise the PFIPC. I assure that my office would review our internal verification procedures to make them more robust and fraud-proof.”
She said the new measures would strengthen the verification process and reduce the risk of fraud in the future.
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