The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Esther Walson-Jack, has acknowledged that her office did not conduct sufficient checks before granting recruitment-related approvals to the disputed Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council.
Walson-Jack made the admission on Wednesday while appearing before the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee investigating the activities of the council and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council in Abuja.
She told the lawmakers that her office relied on documents submitted by representatives of the organisations without independently confirming their authenticity before issuing the necessary approvals.
“My office received the Letter of Appointment and the Establishment Act and, based on those documents and also based on the interaction with the representatives of the PEAC and PFICP, we went on to issue the Authorised Establishment and later the Recruitment Waiver,” she said.
The Head of Service admitted that a more thorough verification process should have been undertaken before the approvals were granted.
She said, “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/PFICP.”
Walson-Jack explained that the existence of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council as an ad hoc body may have contributed to the confusion surrounding the documents presented to her office.
She, however, acknowledged that proper verification could have exposed any discrepancies in the documents.
“We do know that the PEAC used to exist as an ad hoc organisation on its own, and the documents that were presented had PEAC/PFICP. However, as I said, due diligence may have detected whether those documents were actually authentic,” she added.
The House committee is probing the activities of the purported government body amid allegations surrounding its operations and the process through which it obtained recognition and recruitment approvals from government institutions.
The committee, chaired by Yusuf Gagdi, who represents Kanke/Kanam/Pankshin Federal Constituency of Plateau State, is continuing its investigation into the matter.
