By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
A former Permanent Secretary of the Federal Civil Service Commission, Goke Adeboroye, has identified weaknesses in Nigeria’s bureaucratic system that he said could have allowed an alleged fake presidential agency to penetrate the government.
Adeboroye spoke on Channels Television’s Inside Sources, posted on YouTube on Sunday, 23 August, 2026
His comments followed the discovery by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission of the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, which the commission said operated with forged appointment letters and other official documents.
The ICPC said the purported agency had no legal basis and that its alleged Director-General, Adeniyi Matthew, was never appointed by the Federal Government.
While investigating PFIPC, the commission said it uncovered the National Brands Development and Made in Nigeria Special Project Office, which it alleged was illegitimately operating within the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
Reacting to the development, Adeboroye said the incident raised questions about how an individual could allegedly gain entry into the government system, secure an appointment, access budgetary provisions and obtain office space without the relevant authorities detecting the irregularities.
“The exposure of that fake presidential agency is a major lapse to say that somebody can actually come into the system, get in on the budget, get offices, and all of that,” he said.
Adeboroye identified weaknesses in the bureaucratic capacity of key offices within the Presidency and government, including the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President and the Office of the Head of the Civil Service.
He said the bureaucracy supporting these offices must be sufficiently capable of helping the President implement his policies while providing the necessary checks to prevent fraudulent or unlawful directives from taking effect.
“The bureaucracy in those offices are not strong enough to be able to help the President drive the vision at the speed and with the efficiency that he wants,” Adeboroye said.
He said the incident also highlighted the relationship between political office holders and career civil servants.
He noted that while political appointees issue directives, civil servants must have the professional competence and integrity to question instructions that do not conform with established procedures.
“The political office holders are principals to the bureaucracy, and a lot of times, the bureaucracy takes directives from them.
“You need a bureaucracy that is not just professional but also has the capacity. The commitment to the system is also driven by his own or her own personal integrity,” he said.
Adeboroye said civil servants should be able to identify suspicious communications purportedly originating from the Presidency because they are familiar with the established channels through which presidential approvals are transmitted.
“Whether the person brings fake or whatever, you as the civil servant should be trained to be able to detect what should be a genuine communication from the State House. You work in that system,” he said.
He explained that presidential approvals ordinarily pass through established channels involving senior government officials.
“When the President approves anything, he always minutes to about three people. He goes to the Chief of Staff, he goes to SGF, and if he has something to do with civil service, the Head of Service will have it.”
According to him, the existence of such channels should enable officials to verify questionable directives before acting on them.
Adeboroye recalled an incident from his time as Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Interior involving a former governor who claimed to have presidential approval for a diplomatic passport.
He said the then Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Ude, did not act immediately but cross-checked the purported approval before proceeding.
Adeboroye said the official discovered that there was indeed an approval but sought an audience to advise the President on whether the former governor, who was no longer in office, should be granted a diplomatic passport.
He said the official’s action demonstrated the importance of experience and knowledge of government procedures in preventing irregularities.
“That’s somebody using the experience of the system to ensure that you are not outplayed,” he said.
Adeboroye added that officials could have easily verified the authenticity of questionable directives through direct communication with the relevant offices.
“So we would have expected that on a simple phone call, when I was working in the office of Ekaite, Secretary of Government, I could pick a phone, call any minister, call this, it’s just a phone call from the office of whoever to say, Chief of Staff, is this true? And that would have actually corrected it,” he said.
However, the National Coordinator and Executive Director of the project office, George Nwabueze, has denied the allegation, saying the office is a project office under the OSGF and has existed for 16 years.
Nwabueze had also shared an appointment letter purportedly issued by the OSGF, conveying approval of his appointment as National Coordinator/Executive Director of the Made in Nigeria Project Office.
The controversy has continued amid questions over the authorisation and status of the project office and the alleged involvement of public officials in its operations.
