President Bola Tinubu has ordered the immediate arrest of Prince George Buchi Nwabueze and the suspension of three permanent secretaries following the discovery of another alleged fake government agency operating within the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF).
The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr Musa Aliyu, SAN, disclosed this on Friday after briefing President Tinubu for the second consecutive day on the commission’s ongoing investigation.
According to Aliyu, the newly uncovered office operates under the name National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office. He said the office had been allocated space within the OSGF without presidential authorisation and in violation of existing regulations.
Aliyu said the investigation, which followed an earlier directive from President Tinubu, identified Nwabueze as the promoter of the alleged fake office. He added that Nwabueze was found to have 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 identified suspected collaborators within the OSGF and had engaged the office to obtain further information relevant to the investigation.
Following the briefing, President Tinubu directed the immediate arrest of Nwabueze and ordered the suspension of three permanent secretaries: M.S. Danjuma, Nadungu Gagare and Richard P. Pheelangwah.
The latest discovery comes amid an expanding ICPC investigation into alleged fictitious government agencies. The probe began following the exposure of the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, whose alleged director-general, Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, is facing prosecution on charges of forgery and impersonation.
An interim ICPC report submitted to the President on August 6 after a 30-day investigation had also identified two other allegedly 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 is therefore the fourth alleged fake agency uncovered in connection with the wider investigation since the PFIFC scandal emerged in April.
The ICPC said investigations into the latest discovery are continuing.