President Bola Tinubu has ordered the 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 Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Musa Aliyu, SAN, disclosed this on Friday after briefing the President on the agency.
Aliyu said the National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office had been operating from office space within the OSGF without presidential approval and in violation of existing laws.
“ICPC has uncovered another fake agency and office operating under the name National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office,” Aliyu said.
He identified Nwabueze as the promoter of the office and said he was operating under several names, including George Nathan, George Nathan Nwabueze, Honourable George Buchi Nwabueze, Prince George Buchi Nwabueze and George Nwabueze.
According to Aliyu, the promoter also had “active suspected collaborators” within the OSGF who allegedly helped the fake office gain access to government premises.
Following the briefing, Tinubu directed the immediate arrest of Nwabueze and the suspension of M.S. Danjuma, Engineer Nadungu Gagare and Richard P. Pheelangwah, who are permanent secretaries.
“Mr President has directed as follows: the immediate arrest of Prince George Buchi Nwabueze; the immediate suspension of the following permanent secretaries,” Aliyu said.
The discovery is the latest in a wider ICPC investigation ordered by Tinubu after the exposure of the disputed Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).
The ICPC had earlier identified two other fictitious bodies — the FCT Investment Promotion Agency and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency and Public-Private Partnership — bringing the number of unlawful agencies uncovered in the investigation to four.
The disputed PFIPC and its self-styled Director-General, Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, are also being investigated, while the House of Representatives has opened its own probe into the matter.
