“We Ought To Have Carried Out More Due Diligence” — Head Of Civil Service Admits Recruitment Vetting Failure
By Tams Jonah, ABUJA — The Nigerian Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, has accepted responsibility for a major recruitment vetting lapse, acknowledging that her office approved recruitment requests for an unverified entity, the PEAC/PFIPC, after relying on documents that were not independently authenticated.
Speaking on the development, Walson-Jack admitted that the approval process fell short of the level of scrutiny expected in the federal civil service, stressing that more comprehensive due diligence should have been undertaken before the approvals were granted.
“We ought to have carried out more due diligence,” she stated, accepting responsibility for the oversight that has drawn public attention and raised concerns about recruitment verification procedures within the federal service.
According to her, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service acted on documents presented at the time without conducting sufficient independent verification of the status and legitimacy of the organisation involved.
The admission comes amid growing calls for greater transparency and accountability in government recruitment processes, with stakeholders urging stronger institutional safeguards to prevent similar lapses in the future.
The incident has reignited discussions on the need for stricter document verification, improved inter-agency coordination, and more robust oversight mechanisms before recruitment approvals are issued.
Observers say the acknowledgement by the Head of Service reflects a commitment to accountability, while also underscoring the importance of strengthening due diligence procedures across the public service to protect the integrity of federal recruitment exercises.
