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 fictitious agency operating from the premises of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
The development was announced on Friday by the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Dr Musa Aliyu, SAN, after briefing President Tinubu for the second consecutive day on the commission’s investigation into fake government agencies and weaknesses in the public service.
The three permanent secretaries ordered suspended are M.S. Danjuma, Nadungu Gagare and Richard P. Pheelangwah.
According to Aliyu, the ICPC uncovered an organisation operating as the National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office, which had allegedly been allocated office space within the OSGF without the President’s authorisation and contrary to existing regulations.
Aliyu said the discovery was made during the commission’s continuing investigation into the fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, following the President’s directive to investigate how individuals and organisations could operate as government agencies without proper authorisation.
“Upon further briefing by ICPC to Mr President on the ongoing investigations into the fake Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council and procedural weaknesses in the public service, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission has uncovered another fake agency and office operating under the name National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office,” he said.
The ICPC chairman said the office had been “illegally allocated office space within the premises of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.”
He identified Nwabueze as the promoter of the organisation and said investigators had established that he operated under several variations of his name.
The aliases, according to Aliyu, include George Nathan, George Nathan Nwabueze, Honourable George Buchi Nwabueze, Prince George Buchi Nwabueze and George Nwabueze.
The commission also alleged the involvement of 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 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Aliyu said.
Following the briefing, the President directed the immediate arrest of Nwabueze and the suspension of the three permanent secretaries.
Aliyu said the ICPC had commenced engagements with the OSGF to obtain relevant information and documents relating to the organisation and would continue its investigation.
“I have briefed Mr President comprehensively on these new developments. ICPC will continue with its investigations accordingly,” he said.
Friday’s disclosure represents the latest twist in a widening investigation that began with the exposure of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, an organisation that presented itself as a government body despite lacking presidential approval.
The alleged head of the fictitious council, Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, is currently facing prosecution over allegations including forgery and impersonation.
The controversy prompted President Tinubu to direct the ICPC to investigate the circumstances surrounding the emergence and operation of the organisation, as well as possible complicity within the government bureaucracy.
An interim report submitted to the President on August 6, following a 30-day investigation, had already identified two other fictitious bodies — the FCT Investment Promotion Agency and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency and Public-Private Partnership.
The latest discovery brings to four the number of allegedly fake agencies uncovered by the ICPC in the course of the investigation since the initial PFIFC scandal emerged in April.
The revelations have raised fresh concerns about controls within Nigeria’s federal bureaucracy, particularly the procedures governing the creation, recognition and allocation of government offices and facilities to organisations claiming to represent the Federal Government.
The latest action by the President also puts the role of senior civil servants under scrutiny, as the ICPC investigates how an organisation allegedly operating without presidential approval was able to secure office space within the OSGF.
The commission is expected to continue its investigation and establish the identities and roles of other individuals who may have facilitated the operations of the newly uncovered organisation.
