Loading ...ABUJA, NIGERIA — The Presidency has broken its silence on the brewing controversy surrounding alleged appointment letters emanating from the Office of the Chief of Staff, declaring the documents absolute forgeries and revealing that the Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, is the primary whistleblower behind the ongoing criminal investigation.
The clarification was made by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Information & Public Affairs, Tope Ajayi, who detailed the systemic failures in the faked documents and outlined the official protocol for government appointments to prevent the public from falling victim to high-level syndicates.
Anatomy of a Forgery: The “Red Flags”
According to the Presidency, a comprehensive forensic review of the police report on the controversial documents conclusively established that both the signature of the Chief of Staff and the official State House letterhead were fabricated by unauthorized individuals.
Highlighting the structural discrepancies in the forged documents, Ajayi pointed out a major error committed by the fraudsters regarding official State House branding assets.
“The State House Letterhead was forged. In fact, in our own Letterheads, we don’t put phone numbers; those who forged the Letterheads put phone numbers,” Ajayi stated, emphasizing that the inclusion of contact digits on the stationery was an immediate indicator of fraud.
The Administrative Protocol
Beyond the physical manipulation of the stationery, the Presidency emphasized that the fraudsters displayed a fundamental ignorance of the statutory administrative processes governing public service appointments under the current administration.
Ajayi clarified that the Office of the Chief of Staff possesses no legal or administrative mandate to directly issue employment or appointment letters to individuals.
“More importantly, the Chief of Staff doesn’t issue appointment letters; he only conveys the approvals of the President to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), and the SGF issues the appointment letter,” Ajayi explained. “So when you hear anyone saying that the Chief of Staff issued an appointment letter to him, that’s the first red flag.”
Gbajabiamila as the Whistleblower
Pushing back against political narratives attempting to link the Chief of Staff to the scandal, the presidential spokesperson disclosed that Gbajabiamila took proactive legal steps months ago to expose the syndicate when the impersonation scheme first came to light.
Rather than defending a breach, the Chief of Staff actively initiated the security crackdown by formally petitioning the nation’s apex intelligence and law enforcement institutions to track down the fraudsters.
“The Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, was actually the whistleblower. He was the first person to actually write a petition to the DSS (Department of State Services) and the IGP (Inspector General of Police) to investigate someone who is impersonating him—somebody who is going about with a forged document from his office,” Ajayi stated.
Crackdown on Government Impersonators
The revelations come amid a broader push by joint security agencies to dismantle syndicates specializing in the sale of fake federal employment letters and political appointments to unsuspecting job seekers and political actors.
The DSS and the Nigeria Police Force are reportedly widening their dragnet to apprehend the operational printers, digital designers, and middlemen involved in trafficking the forged State House documents.
The Presidency has urged the public to remain vigilant and verify any purported government assignment through the Office of the SGF, warning that the administration will not honor any employment claims predicated on fraudulent documentation.
