President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered the immediate arrest of Prince George Buchi Nwabueze and directed the suspension of three permanent secretaries following the discovery of another allegedly fictitious agency operating within the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF).
The suspended officials 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 this on Friday while briefing State House correspondents after meeting with President Tinubu for the second consecutive day.
Aliyu said the commission 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 legal backing or authorisation from the President.
According to him, the discovery was made as part of the ICPC’s ongoing investigation into the previously exposed fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council and alleged procedural lapses within the public service.
He said the newly uncovered office was allegedly promoted by Nwabueze, who 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.
Aliyu said the investigation also uncovered suspected collaborators within the OSGF who allegedly facilitated the operation of the office.
The ICPC chairman said the commission had engaged the OSGF to obtain relevant information concerning the organisation and had fully briefed the President on its findings.
“Mr President has directed as follows: the immediate arrest of Prince George Buchi Nwabueze; the immediate suspension of the following permanent secretaries: M.S. Danjuma, Nadungu Gagare, and Richard P. Pheelangwah,” Aliyu said.
He added that the ICPC would continue its investigation into the matter.
The latest development follows the exposure of the alleged fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, whose self-styled Director-General, Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, is facing prosecution over alleged forgery and impersonation.
An interim ICPC report submitted to President Tinubu on August 6, following 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 latest in a series of allegedly unauthorised organisations uncovered by the anti-corruption agency since the PFIFC investigation began.
