President Bola Tinubu has ordered the immediate arrest of Prince George Buchi Nwabueze for allegedly operating a fraudulent government agency within the premises of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF).
Following fresh disclosures by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) regarding its ongoing probe into alleged fake government agencies and structural lapses within the public service, the President has also directed the immediate suspension of three permanent secretaries.
The directives were disclosed on Friday by ICPC Chairman Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, SAN, during a State House press briefing at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
According to Aliyu, the commission uncovered another office operating within the OSGF premises under the name National Brands Development and Made in Nigeria Special Project Office, which is alleged to be fraudulent.
He stated that space had been allocated to the office within the OSGF without presidential approval.
The ICPC chairman added that the discovery was made as part of the commission’s broader investigation into the alleged fraudulent activities of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) and other procedural irregularities within the government.
According to Aliyu, Nwabueze, who supposedly went by multiple names, promoted the Made in Nigeria Special Project Office and National Brands Development.
The commission claimed that suspected OSGF accomplices were involved in the office’s operations.
He claimed that after consulting with OSGF personnel to gather pertinent data about the office, the ICPC briefed President Tinubu on its conclusions.
The ICPC chairman also revealed that three permanent secretaries—M.S. Danjuma, Nadungu Gagare, and Richard P. Pheelangwah—were suspended immediately by the President.
Consequently, Aliyu said the commission’s investigation was ongoing and warned that further actions could follow as additional facts emerge.
Backstory…
The discovery of another alleged fake government agency comes as the ICPC continues its investigation into the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) scandal, which has already uncovered a much wider network of fictitious government bodies.
The latest agency, identified as the National Brands Development and Made in Nigeria Special Project Office, was allegedly operating from office space within the premises of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF). The ICPC said the organisation had no legal basis to operate as a government agency.
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