The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, has accepted responsibility for the official recognition of the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, admitting that due diligence was not thoroughly carried out during the verification process.
Speaking before the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the alleged operation of the purported council, Walson-Jack said her office relied on documents that appeared authentic without subjecting them to sufficient verification.
She told lawmakers 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.
However, she said subsequent comparisons with genuine State House correspondence, supported by police forensic findings, confirmed that the signatures were different.
Walson-Jack assured the committee that her office would strengthen its internal verification procedures to make them more robust and resistant to fraud.
Meanwhile, the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, informed the committee that the self-acclaimed Director-General of the purported council, Mr. Adeniyi Adeyemi, could not appear before lawmakers due to a subsisting court order.
Represented by Deputy Commissioner of Police Olufemi Akinola, the IGP said Adeyemi could only appear upon an order of a court of competent jurisdiction.
Following the submission, the committee adjourned further hearing on the matter until next week.
