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A former Permanent Secretary of the Federation Civil Service Commission, Goke Adeboroye, has blamed weaknesses in Nigeria’s bureaucratic system for the failure to detect a fake presidential agency that allegedly penetrated the government.
Adeboroye said the incident exposed significant lapses in the country’s public service, particularly the failure of relevant government offices to verify the authenticity of documents and directives attributed to the presidency.
His comments followed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission’s discovery of the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, which allegedly operated with forged appointment letters and other official documents.
The ICPC said the agency had no legal basis, while its purported director-general, Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, was never appointed by the Nigerian government.
Another alleged fake agency, the National Brands Development and Made in Nigeria Special Project Office, was also discovered operating within the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Inside Sources, Adeboroye questioned how an individual could allegedly gain access to the government system, secure an appointment, obtain office space and access budgetary provisions without the irregularities being detected.
“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.
Bureaucracy must provide checks
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 have the capacity to help the President implement policies efficiently while providing the necessary checks 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.
The former permanent secretary also highlighted the need for career civil servants to maintain professionalism and integrity when dealing with directives from political office holders.
According to him, although political appointees are principals to the bureaucracy and issue directives, civil servants must have the competence and integrity to question instructions that do not follow established procedures.
Officials should verify presidential directives
Adeboroye said civil servants should be trained to recognise suspicious communications allegedly originating from the Presidency because they are familiar with established channels for transmitting presidential approvals.
He explained that presidential approvals ordinarily pass through established channels involving senior government officials, including the Chief of Staff to the President, the SGF and, where relevant, the Head of the Civil Service.
“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,” he said.
Adeboroye said these channels should allow officials to verify questionable directives before acting on them.
He added that a simple telephone call to the relevant office could have exposed the alleged fraud.
“I could pick up 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.
