Nigeria’s Federal Civil Service is reeling from revelations that fake agencies have been operating within government premises, sparking widespread criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s administration. The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission exposed a ghost agency called the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council that somehow secured office space at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja, opened Central Bank accounts and received official budget allocations.
How did this happen? The fake agency claimed to attract foreign investment and even appeared in the 2026 national budget with an allocation of N1.3 billion. Its self-proclaimed director-general, Adeniyi Adeyemi, allegedly met with cabinet ministers, financial regulators and foreign diplomats while running operations from inside the Federal Secretariat complex. Career civil servants were assigned to work there, and the agency won approval to hire over 300 staff despite a government recruitment freeze.
Things unraveled quickly. Adeyemi accused Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila of receiving N400 million through proxies, though the Presidency dismissed these claims and labeled the agency fictitious. A Federal High Court subsequently issued an arrest warrant for Adeyemi, who was later detained by police operatives.
The ICPC didn’t stop there. Investigators uncovered a second fake office called the National Brands Development and Made in Nigeria Special Project Office operating within the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. President Tinubu responded by suspending three permanent secretaries linked to the unauthorized elishment.
Public reaction has been fierce. Citizens are questioning how such elaborate fraud could penetrate supposedly secure government institutions. Divine Akor told reporters the scandal represents a serious indictment of governance machinery, noting that legitimate government agencies can’t simply be created with letterheads and fancy titles.
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