The media and, by extension, citizens must not fall for the narrative of scapegoating persons only. It must question the entire framework, especially the other federal institutional frameworks that have aided and abetted the flow of public funds in this regard, namely: the Budget Office of the Federation, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, and the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The recent allegations against the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu and subsequent clarifications by the Presidency should raise concerns about institutional reforms for improved service delivery in Nigeria. Whatever way you look at it, it is bad. If you take the Presidency’s statement about the illegality of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) and Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) on the face value, it is bad. How does someone and an entity infiltrate the system, get inserted into the 2026 budget (a signed budget is legally binding and is a law by the way) and operate from the federal secretariat in Abuja for months in 2025? There are plausible reasons to believe they enjoyed some backing of sorts from possible ‘ogas at the top’.
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If you do not believe the statement in its entirety, then it is equally bad, and this is where the tripartite narrative comes into play. Most, if not all, Departments and Agencies (DAs) of the Nigerian Federal Government are created by executive fiat or legislative action. Either way, there is a process involved, so if the FG claims it never appointed a Director-General or created the PFIPC and PEAC, then the starting point is: how did these entities come into existence? From my time working during the rollout of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) in 2015, I understand that DAs of government usually fall into three categories: the fully funded, partially funded, or zero-funded. Most of the zero-funded DAs have more control over their operations, and, as such, they could easily fall under the radar. A budget allocation changes this narrative. Also, DAs are typically operational under a Ministry; hence, MDAs. PFIPC will fall under the Foreign Affairs Ministry, and PEAC will likely fall under the Ministry of Finance.
The denial of the Presidency should be questioned and interrogated by every curious mind. My first hypothesis is that the denial is a convenient way to make ‘someone/persons’ a scapegoat, and after the resignation or conviction, it all goes away. This matter should not be framed only as an allegation against the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, and the alleged fraudulent Director-General Mr Adeniyi Adeyemi. My second hypothesis is that there is a fallout among parties, and, in a bid to make each one look bad, these claims and counterclaims are being made publicly. Remember #Adeosungate? What began as blackmail and the misappropriation of public funds by National Assembly members escalated into a certificate forgery issue, leading to her resignation. Resignation was scapegoating, but it did not address the larger issue.
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A foundational institutional query is: Why is there no single, unified database of verified and functional MDAs in Nigeria? This was my experience on the TSA project in 2015. And this is why the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) have questions to answer as administrative entities responsible for maintaining or that should have oversight of such a repository.
The media and, by extension, citizens must not fall for the narrative of scapegoating persons only. It must question the entire framework, especially the other federal institutional frameworks that have aided and abetted the flow of public funds in this regard, namely: the Budget Office of the Federation, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, and the Central Bank of Nigeria.
A foundational institutional query is: Why is there no single, unified database of verified and functional MDAs in Nigeria? This was my experience on the TSA project in 2015. And this is why the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) have questions to answer as administrative entities responsible for maintaining or that should have oversight of such a repository. There are debates as to whether the Federal Government knows the number of existing MDAs. Some say it depends on whom you ask, while others say the annual budget document is the closest to reality we will get because every legitimate MDA is registered, captured under the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), and assigned a distinct budget code by the Budget Office.
And this takes us deeper into why this sort of system is what the political establishment relies on to keep on ballooning the cost of governance. The more MDAs, the more fictitious allocations that can be made within the budget, and the more the political elite feasts on public funds. The Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting of 26 February 2023 approved the restructuring of some MDAs. In 2024, it set up a committee with a 12-week deadline for the restructuring, which signalled a partial implementation of the 2012 Orosanye report, after many reviews and white papers. What has become of this process? Curiously, the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), which reportedly raised the issue of duplication of role with the supposedly non-existent PFIPC, according to that announcement in 2024, is supposed to be merged with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC). As of this now, both NIPC and NEPC still maintain different websites.
As things continue to unfold, the critical questions must be asked towards a more transparent and accountable government framework. Citizens, the media, and CSOs must carefully identify deeper concerns towards ensuring that government systems and policies are delivering the best possible results beyond finger pointing and politically driven accusations.
On one hand, it would seem that when there are roadblocks to policies that will massively cut the cost of governance and waste, things go slowly or grind to a halt. However, when similar situations occur in other cases, the political will and interest have a bulldozing energy to crush whatever is in its way, especially if it concerns the possibility of increasing government revenue. A comparative example is the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee that was approved on 7 July, 2023, and officially inaugurated on 8 August, 2023. Within two years, its work culminated in the Nigeria Tax Reform Act, 2025, scaling through all legislative hurdles and coming into effect by January.
As things continue to unfold, the critical questions must be asked towards a more transparent and accountable government framework. Citizens, the media, and CSOs must carefully identify deeper concerns towards ensuring that government systems and policies are delivering the best possible results beyond finger pointing and politically driven accusations.
Adeolu Adekola, a policy and development specialist working on accountability in governance, civic engagement and investigative journalism, is the project manager of Open Climate Reporting Initiative (OCRI) at the Centre for Investigative Journalism, London.
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