A former permanent secretary has questioned how an alleged fake presidential agency managed to move through Nigeria’s government system without being detected earlier.

Goke Adeboroye, a former Permanent Secretary of the Federation Civil Service Commission, said the episode exposed significant weaknesses in the country’s bureaucratic safeguards.

The alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council was uncovered by the ICPC, which said the organisation had no legal basis and that its purported Director-General, Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, had not been appointed by the Federal Government.

The case has generated questions about how individuals allegedly linked to the organisation were able to gain access to government processes and present documents purportedly originating from senior officials.

Adeboroye said the responsibility of the civil service extends beyond implementing directives issued by political office holders.

He said civil servants must also provide the institutional checks required to ensure that directives and documents are legitimate and consistent with established procedures.

According to him, officials working in government should be familiar with the normal channels used to transmit presidential approvals.

He said this knowledge should have enabled officials to identify inconsistencies in suspicious documents and verify them with the appropriate offices.

Adeboroye argued that the problem was partly a question of bureaucratic capacity, but also involved the integrity and professionalism of individual officials.

He said a system in which civil servants do not question questionable instructions could become vulnerable to manipulation.

The former permanent secretary said government offices should strengthen verification procedures and ensure that officials have the training necessary to identify fraudulent communications.

He added that the incident should prompt a broader review of administrative controls within the Federal Government.