President Bola Tinubu has ordered the immediate arrest of Prince George Buchi Nwabueze following the discovery of another purported fake agency operating within the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume.
The latest discovery involves an entity identified as the National Brands Development and Made in Nigeria Special Project Office, which the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) said was not a legitimate government agency.
Chairman of the ICPC, Dr Musa Adamu Aliyu, SAN, disclosed this on Friday while briefing State House correspondents after a meeting with President Tinubu.
According to Aliyu, the discovery was made in the course of an ongoing investigation into the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, allegedly operated by Adeyemi Matthew.
He said the investigation uncovered another questionable entity operating from within the premises of the SGF’s office.
Aliyu explained that office space had been illegally allocated to the purported agency within the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
The ICPC chairman said the development prompted the President to direct the immediate arrest of Nwabueze in connection with the matter.
In a further directive, Tinubu ordered the immediate suspension of three permanent secretaries over the incident.
The affected officials are M.S. Danjuma, Engineer Nadungu Gagare and Richard P. Pheelangwah.
The latest development comes amid an ongoing investigation into the proliferation and operation of purported government agencies and bodies within federal government establishments.
The ICPC is expected to continue its investigation to establish how the entities gained access to government premises and determine those responsible for their operations.
Further details are expected as the investigation progresses.
