Fresh controversy has erupted over the discovery of alleged fake agencies operating within Nigeria’s Federal Civil Service, with Nigerians demanding answers over how organisations without clear legal mandates allegedly secured government offices, interacted with senior officials and accessed public resources under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The controversy intensified after the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) uncovered the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), an entity described as a ghost agency.
The organisation reportedly operated from an office inside the Federal Secretariat in Abuja, maintained a website on the official .gov.ng domain, had career civil servants assigned to it and secured approval to recruit more than 300 employees despite a government freeze on public-sector recruitment.
The agency was also listed in the 2026 national budget with an allocation of N1.3 billion.
Its purported Director General, Adeniyi Adeyemi, reportedly met government officials, financial regulators, anti corruption authorities and foreign diplomats while presenting the organisation as a government agency established to attract foreign investment into Nigeria.
The development sparked further controversy after Adeyemi made allegations against Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to President Tinubu, including claims involving financial payments and an alleged demand for money to facilitate his appointment.
The Presidency subsequently denied the allegations and dismissed the PFIPC as a fictitious organisation, describing Adeyemi as a con artist allegedly attempting to exploit public trust and evade criminal accountability.
Following an investigation ordered by President Tinubu, a Federal High Court issued an arrest warrant for Adeyemi, who was later arrested by the police as proceedings commenced.
Another ‘fake agency’ discovered
The controversy deepened when the ICPC uncovered another alleged unauthorised entity, the National Brands Development and Made in Nigeria Special Project Office.
The office was reportedly operating within the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and was promoted by Prince George Buchi Nwabueze.
Following the discovery, President Tinubu ordered the immediate suspension of three permanent secretaries M.S. Danjuma, Engr. Nadungu Gagare and Richard Pheelangwah over their alleged links to the unauthorised establishment of the office.
The successive discoveries have triggered questions about the effectiveness of Nigeria’s civil service oversight mechanisms and the ability of government institutions to verify organisations operating within official government structures.
Nigerians demand accountability
Reacting to the development, Nigerians who spoke to DAILY POST described the discoveries as more than an administrative embarrassment, arguing that they exposed potentially serious weaknesses within the machinery of government.
Divine Akor questioned how an organisation allegedly lacking a lawful mandate could secure office space within the Federal Secretariat, present itself as a government agency and interact with public officials without being detected earlier.
He argued that legitimate government agencies require legal backing, approved structures, supervising authorities and verifiable government records.
According to him, if those safeguards were bypassed, the administration must acknowledge a serious institutional oversight failure.
Isaac Adeyemo said Tinubu deserved credit for ordering investigations but argued that investigations alone would not address the underlying problem.
He demanded answers from institutions including the Office of the Head of the Civil Service, the SGF’s office and relevant ministries over the checks that allegedly failed.
Adeyemo also called for government insiders who may have facilitated or protected the operations to be investigated.
Blessing Ede similarly demanded transparency, asking authorities to establish whether public funds, government facilities, official documents, contracts or other privileges were accessed through the alleged fake agencies.
She called for the publication of a comprehensive register of legally recognised federal agencies and their enabling laws, alongside verification of organisations occupying government premises.
Paul Ogbole, meanwhile, argued that officials responsible for supervisory failures should face accountability.
He said the Federal Government must go beyond arresting alleged perpetrators and address the institutional loopholes that allowed such organisations to operate.
“The real scandal is not only the fake agency. The real scandal is a system that made its existence possible,” Ogbole said.
The controversy has therefore shifted from the activities of the alleged fake agencies themselves to a bigger question confronting the Tinubu administration: If organisations that allegedly did not legally exist could obtain government offices, budgetary allocations and access to senior officials, who was responsible for watching the gate?