Breaking: Tinubu Orders Arrest, Suspends Three Perm Secs Over Another Fake Agency

President Bola Tinubu has ordered the immediate arrest of George Buchi Nwabueze and suspended three permanent secretaries following the discovery of another unauthorised agency operating within the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF).

The affected permanent secretaries are M.S. Danjuma, Nadungu Gagare and Richard P. Pheelangwah.

The latest development followed the discovery by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) of a purported agency known as the National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office.

The ICPC Chairman, Dr Musa Aliyu, disclosed this on Friday after briefing the President at the State House in Abuja for the second consecutive day.

Aliyu said the organisation had been allocated office space within the OSGF premises despite having no legal basis to operate and without authorisation from the President.

He said the discovery was made during an ongoing investigation ordered by Tinubu into the activities of fictitious government bodies and weaknesses in public service procedures.

According to him, Nwabueze was allegedly behind the new fake office and had suspected collaborators within the OSGF.

“The fake agency office, National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office, was promoted by one George Buchi Nwabueze, with active suspected collaborators in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, contrary to extant laws and without authorisation of the President,” Aliyu said.

The ICPC chairman said investigators also found that Nwabueze operated under several variations of his name, including George Nathan, George Nathan Nwabueze, Honourable George Buchi Nwabueze, Prince George Buchi Nwabueze and George Nwabueze.

He said the commission had engaged the OSGF to obtain relevant information concerning the office and had briefed the President on its findings.

“I have briefed Mr President comprehensively on these new developments. ICPC will continue with its investigations accordingly,” Aliyu said.

He said the President subsequently directed the immediate arrest of Nwabueze and the suspension of the three permanent secretaries.

The latest discovery is linked to an investigation that began following the exposure of the fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIFC).

The purported council’s self-styled Director-General, Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, is currently facing prosecution over allegations of forgery and impersonation.

An interim ICPC report submitted to Tinubu on August 6, following a 30-day investigation, had also revealed two other purported 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 is the fourth fictitious body uncovered by the anti-corruption commission since the PFIFC scandal emerged in April.

The latest findings have further raised questions over the processes through which unauthorised individuals and entities were able to gain access to government offices and operate within official premises.

The ICPC said its investigation into the latest discovery would continue.