BREAKING: Tinubu Orders Arrest, Suspends Three Perm Secs Over New Fake Agency
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the immediate arrest of Prince George Buchi Nwabueze and suspended three permanent secretaries following the discovery of another alleged fake agency operating within the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF).
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) Chairman, Dr Musa Aliyu, SAN, disclosed this on Friday after briefing the President for the second time in two days on the commission’s ongoing investigation into fictitious government agencies.
The suspended permanent secretaries are M.S. Danjuma, Nadungu Gagare and Richard P. Pheelangwah.
According to Aliyu, the newly uncovered entity operates as the “National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office” and had allegedly been allocated office space within the OSGF without presidential approval or legal authority.
He said the discovery was made during the broader investigation ordered by President Tinubu following the earlier exposure of the fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIFC).
Aliyu identified Nwabueze as the promoter of the newly discovered office and said investigations revealed that he operated under several variations of his name, including George Nathan, George Nathan Nwabueze, Honourable George Buchi Nwabueze, Prince George Buchi Nwabueze and George Nwabueze.
The ICPC chairman also disclosed that the commission had engaged the OSGF to obtain relevant information concerning the fake office and its activities.
Following the briefing, Aliyu said President Tinubu directed the immediate arrest of Nwabueze and the suspension of the three permanent secretaries allegedly linked to the development.
The latest discovery adds to the growing list of fictitious government bodies uncovered by the ICPC.
The commission had earlier exposed the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, whose purported Director-General, Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, is facing prosecution over allegations of forgery and impersonation.
An interim ICPC report submitted to President Tinubu on August 6 after a 30-day investigation also identified two other alleged fictitious bodies — the FCT Investment Promotion Agency and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency and Public-Private Partnership.
The National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office therefore becomes the fourth alleged fake agency uncovered by the ICPC since the investigation into the PFIFC scandal began.
