Weaknesses in Nigeria’s bureaucratic system may have created an avenue for an alleged fake presidential agency to penetrate government, secure official-looking documents and operate within government premises, a former Permanent Secretary of the Federal Civil Service Commission, Goke Adeboroye, has said.
Adeboroye spoke on Channels Television’s Inside Sources programme following the discovery of the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.
The ICPC had alleged that the purported agency operated with forged appointment letters and other official documents, insisting that it had no legal backing and that its alleged Director-General, Adeniyi Matthew, was never appointed by the Federal Government.
During its investigation, the commission also uncovered the National Brands Development and Made in Nigeria Special Project Office, which it alleged was operating illegally within the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
Reacting, Adeboroye questioned how an individual could allegedly penetrate the government system, secure budgetary provisions and office accommodation without being detected by relevant authorities.
He said, “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.”
According to him, the development points to weaknesses in the bureaucratic capacity of key offices within the Presidency, including the Office of the SGF, Chief of Staff to the President and the Office of the Head of the Civil Service.
Adeboroye said the bureaucracy must be strong enough to support the President in implementing his policies while also serving as a safeguard against fraudulent or unlawful directives.
“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,” he said.
He further stressed the need for career civil servants to possess the experience and integrity to question suspicious directives from political office holders.
Adeboroye said officials working within government should be able to identify questionable communications purportedly originating from the Presidency because they understand the established channels for transmitting presidential approvals.
He explained that presidential approvals ordinarily pass through senior officials, including the Chief of Staff, SGF and, where necessary, the Head of Service.
According to him, those channels should make it difficult for forged approvals to be acted upon without verification.
Recalling an incident from his days as Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Interior, Adeboroye said a former governor once claimed to have obtained presidential approval for a diplomatic passport.
He said the then Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Ude, did not act immediately but verified the purported approval and subsequently sought the President’s advice on whether the former governor, who was no longer in office, should be issued the diplomatic passport.
Adeboroye described the action as an example of how experience and knowledge of government procedures could prevent irregularities.
He added that questionable directives could also be verified through a simple telephone call to the relevant government office.
Meanwhile, the ICPC investigation that triggered the controversy has continued to generate questions over the status of the National Brands Development and Made in Nigeria Special Project Office.
The ICPC Chairman, Musa Aliyu, had said the office was allocated space within the OSGF premises without presidential authorisation.
However, the National Coordinator and Executive Director of the office, George Nwabueze, has rejected the allegation, insisting that it is a legitimate project office under the OSGF that has existed for 16 years.
Nwabueze has also released documents which he said showed the office’s connection with the OSGF, including an appointment letter purportedly conveying approval of his appointment as National Coordinator/Executive Director.
The controversy has continued amid questions over the authorisation, funding and operations of the project office.
