PFIPC: Head of Civil Service admits due diligence failed, accepts responsibility

The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Didi Esther Walson-Jack, says due diligence was not thoroughly carried out in the process that led to the recognition of the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, PFIPC.

Speaking before the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the alleged operation of the purported council, Walson-Jack accepted responsibility for the lapse.

According to the Head of the Civil Service, her office relied on documents that appeared authentic without subjecting them to sufficient verification.

She told the committee that her office had no reason to doubt the documents at the time because they bore the State House logo and what appeared to be a familiar signature.

Walson-Jack, however, said subsequent comparisons with genuine State House correspondence, backed by police forensic findings, confirmed that the signatures were different.

“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.