Reps Discloses Irregular Approvals Behind PFIPC Scandal

New information surfaced on Wednesday in the House of Representatives’ investigation into the contentious Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council after Mrs. Didi Walson-Jack, the Head of the Federation’s Civil Service, acknowledged that her office had not done sufficient due diligence before giving the alleged organization important approvals, according to The PUNCH, ABNTV reports.

Also, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation blamed one of its officials for diverting an official letter that allegedly helped sustain the scheme.

The ongoing probe centres on allegations that Prince Adeyemi Adeniyi, who presented himself as the Director-General of the PFIPC, secured official recognition for the body using allegedly fake appointment letters, fabricated legislative documents and other forged government records, despite the agency having no legal backing.

The House committee is investigating how several federal institutions processed and acted on the documents, leading to the purported agency receiving official approvals.

The House Ad-Hoc Committee probing the alleged creation of the PFIPC and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council without legal backing also said it had uncovered what it described as a web of fake appointment letters, fabricated legislative documents and fictitious government offices allegedly used by the promoters to obtain official recognition from federal institutions.

The Accountant-General’s Office identified one of its staff members, Bello Abdullahi, as the official responsible for diverting correspondence that was intended for the Permanent Secretary, State House, while Walson-Jack acknowledged that her office relied on documents that have now been found to be false before approving an authorised establishment and recruitment waiver for the agency.

The revelations emerged as the committee, chaired by the lawmaker representing Kanke/Kanam/Pankshin Federal Constituency of Plateau State, Yusuf Gagdi, intensified its probe into how the purported agency allegedly secured official recognition despite lacking any legal foundation.

Addressing the panel, the Director, Federal Project Financial Department, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Joshua Luka, explained the circumstances leading to the issuance of an administrative code to the fake agency.

According to him, the OAGF received what appeared to be an official request from the State House and deliberately addressed its response to the Permanent Secretary rather than directly to the agency.

“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 unraveled,” Luka said.

The committee, however, faulted the explanation after evidence showed that the correspondence never reached the State House Permanent Secretary but was instead received by Mr. Adeyemi.

Gagdi also disclosed that investigations had established that the Directorate of Administration and Support Services, which appeared in the correspondence, did not exist in the State House.

“There is no Directorate of Administration and Support Services in the State House. That office does not exist,” he said.

He criticized officials of the Accountant-General’s Office for allowing the suspect to receive official correspondence meant for another government office.

“You allowed the fraudulent DG to come and pick up 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, however, insisted that the failure resulted from the actions of a single official rather than an institutional 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 pressed to reveal the identity of the individual responsible, Luka mentioned Bello, who sat on a row behind him at Hearing Room 028.

Bello admitted giving the letter to Adeyemi, but his attempt to explain the circumstances was shut down by Gagdi.