THE HOUSE of Representatives’ investigation into the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) has uncovered fresh details about the alleged use of forged government documents, with lawmakers maintaining that only the appointment letter of the council’s purported Director-General contained a fabricated signature, while the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation admitted that her office failed to conduct adequate due diligence before approving the entity.
According to Daily Post, Chairman of the House Committee on Defence and head of the investigative panel, Rep. Yusuf Gadgi, said letters purportedly issued from the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President and addressed to nine government agencies bore authentic signatures belonging to Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila. He However said the signature on the appointment letter of the alleged PFIPC Director-General, Prince Adeyemi Adeniyi, was the only one that differed.
Speaking during the investigative hearing at the National Assembly, Gadgi said correspondence sent to institutions including the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Police shared the same authentic signature pattern.
According to Daily Post, the lawmaker maintained that only the appointment letter issued to the purported PFIPC Director-General carried a different signature, reinforcing the committee’s allegation that the document was fake.
The hearing also featured testimony from the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack. Daily Post reported that she told lawmakers her office had never encountered a situation similar to the PFIPC case, recalling that officials representing the council appeared before her office claiming to be a newly established government agency and requested official recognition.
Mrs. Walson-Jack added that the council also sought an appointment letter for its chief executive in line with what it claimed was its Establishment Act.
Providing further details, Daily Trust reported that Walson-Jack acknowledged that her office issued an authorised establishment and recruitment waiver to the PFIPC based on documents presented by its representatives, including what appeared to be an appointment letter for Adeniyi and a purported Act establishing the council.
She admitted that officials acted on those documents without sufficient verification and conceded that proper due diligence would have exposed them as fraudulent.
According to Daily Trust, Walson-Jack told the committee that an internal review initiated after the House investigation revealed that the supposed Establishment Act was not authentic. She said her office had since withdrawn all approvals previously granted to the PFIPC after determining that the documents relied upon were not genuine.
The newspaper further reported that the committee presented authentic correspondence from the Office of the Chief of Staff alongside the disputed appointment letter and asked the Head of Service to compare the signatures.
Walson-Jack acknowledged that the signatures were clearly different, while Gadgi disclosed that a forensic examination by the Nigeria Police had reached the same conclusion. He argued that the appointment letter was not merely forged but entirely fabricated because it did not even attempt to imitate the authentic signature.
Daily Trust also reported that the committee found the purported Act establishing the PFIPC lacked the essential features of a valid Act of the National Assembly, including an Act number, gazette number and other statutory identifiers.
Gadgi said the panel had established that both the appointment letter and the supposed Establishment Act presented to government institutions were fake, although he acknowledged that the Office of the Head of the Civil Service acted on the strength of the documents submitted before later admitting shortcomings in its internal verification process.
Beyond the forged documents, the committee heard evidence relating to how the alleged scheme progressed through government institutions. According to Daily Trust, lawmakers were told that Adeyemi allegedly collected a verification letter intended for the State House from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation after seeking an administrative code for the council.
Gadgi claimed the request itself relied on forged correspondence referencing a State House directorate that investigators later found did not exist. Officials of the Accountant-General’s office reportedly attributed the incident to an individual officer’s lapse rather than a systemic failure.
The newspaper further reported that police representatives failed to produce Adeyemi before the committee, explaining that he remained in custody under a valid court remand order and could only be released upon presentation of a court-authorised warrant. They told lawmakers they remained willing to cooperate with the investigation while complying with existing judicial orders.
Addressing journalists after the hearing, Gadgi said the committee believed it had uncovered an extensive case of document fraud involving forged correspondence and fabricated government records.
According to Daily Trust, he said the panel would complete its verification with the remaining agencies before presenting its findings to the public and submitting a final report to the House of Representatives.
