Tinubu’s Shadow Government: Ghosts, Duplicates, and Phantom Agencies

A Government in Chaos: The Administrative Anarchy of President Tinubu’s Administration

The current administration under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is marked by a disturbing pattern of administrative chaos, characterized by repeated appointments, reappointments, and unappointments that undermine the legitimacy and effectiveness of public offices. This pattern reflects a lack of control within the government and the presence of a shadowy group of influence peddlers operating behind the scenes.

The Legacy of Disorganization

Muhammadu Buhari’s administration was known for its lethargy and delays in filling key positions. However, Tinubu has taken this disorganization to a new level. The result is a government where press releases often conflict with official documents, agencies announce decisions of questionable origin, and incumbents ignore publicly announced replacements. This environment of administrative disorder has allowed for the creation of fraudulent entities, such as a presidential council that can navigate through multiple layers of bureaucracy without proper verification.

Examples of Administrative Inconsistency

Tinubu’s administration has been plagued by numerous examples of inconsistent appointments. For instance, Maryam Shetty discovered her nomination had vanished during the ministerial screening process in 2023. Niger Delta Development Commission nominees were replaced within 24 hours of being named. Kashim Imam’s appointment as chairman of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency lasted less than a week.

In August 2025, the presidency reappointed Muheeba Dankaka as chair of the Federal Character Commission at 6:35 p.m. and announced Ayo Omidiran as chair at 10:44 p.m., resulting in two chairs for one commission within four hours. The Nigerian Television Authority also experienced a dramatic case where Rotimi Pedro was appointed director-general while Salihu Dembos still had an uncompleted tenure. Two weeks later, the presidency reversed itself, restoring the incumbents. The information minister learned of the original appointments through the media, highlighting the lack of coordination and transparency.

The Role of a Shadowy Cabal

The pattern of administrative chaos suggests the presence of a cabal within the presidential office. This informal group of aides, patrons, bureaucratic gatekeepers, and political financiers can manipulate the appointment process, insert names into announcements, withhold letters, reverse decisions, or sustain incumbents against published directives. The result is a government that speaks in tongues, with each voice claiming the presidential seal.

The PFIPC Scandal

The scandal surrounding the so-called Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) exemplifies the dysfunction of Tinubu’s administration. Adeniyi Adeyemi was accused of fabricating an appointment as director-general of a fictitious agency. Despite being a phantom entity, PFIPC acquired a ₦1.3 billion line in the 2026 budget, occupied federal office space, met foreign diplomats, and secured an approved staff establishment after official verification failed. The Central Bank opened dollar and pound accounts for it on the Accountant-General’s mandate, although the accounts remained empty and inactive.

This scandal highlights the collapse of verification processes and the potential for fraud within the administration. A single impostor could not have navigated the Office of the SGF, Head of Service, Budget Office, Accountant-General, Central Bank, and diplomatic system unless verification gates had collapsed or helpful insiders had opened them.

Calls for Reform

To address these issues, Nigeria needs a publicly searchable presidential appointments register showing the statutory office, appointee, tenure, effective date, instrument number, and current status. Every presidential council and entity in the federal budget since 2023 deserves a forensic audit. The National Assembly should trace who inserted PFIPC into the budget and who validated each stage of its bureaucratic incarnation.

A government that cannot authenticate its own voice invites impostors to speak for it. A president whose appointees cannot tell whether they have been hired, fired, or duplicated presides over a dysfunctional, self-dealing banana republic. His authority has become divisible, tradable, and deniable.