President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered the immediate arrest of Prince George Buchi Nwabueze and the suspension of three permanent secretaries following the discovery of another fake 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.
Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr Musa Aliyu, SAN, disclosed the development on Friday while briefing State House correspondents after his second meeting with President Tinubu in two days.
According to Aliyu, the ICPC uncovered a fictitious office operating as the “National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office.”
He said the office had been illegally allocated space within the OSGF premises without authorisation from the President and in violation of existing laws and procedures.
Aliyu explained that the discovery was made during the commission’s ongoing investigation into the previously uncovered fake Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIFC) and other weaknesses within the public service.
He identified Nwabueze as the promoter of the newly uncovered fake office, noting that the suspect allegedly operated under several names, including George Nathan, George Nathan Nwabueze, Honourable George Buchi Nwabueze, Prince George Buchi Nwabueze and George Nwabueze.
The ICPC chairman said the commission had engaged the OSGF to obtain relevant information concerning the fake office and had briefed President Tinubu on its findings.
Following the briefing, President Tinubu directed the immediate arrest of Nwabueze and the suspension of the three permanent secretaries.
Aliyu said the ICPC would continue its investigation into the matter.
The latest development follows the earlier exposure of the fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, whose alleged 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, following a 30-day investigation, had also revealed two other 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 fake agency uncovered by the ICPC since the PFIFC scandal came to light in April.
The ICPC is expected to continue its investigation to determine the full extent of the alleged network and identify all individuals who may have been involved.
