Three permanent secretaries suspended after investigators traced a fictitious “Made in Nigeria” office to the same PFIPC probe.
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the immediate arrest of George Buchi Nwabueze over his alleged operation of a fake government agency within the premises of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) and suspended three permanent secretaries following fresh findings by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
The matter remains under active investigation and is sub judice.
Musa Adamu Aliyu, ICPC Chairman, disclosed the development to State House correspondents on Friday, his second briefing with Tinubu in two days, following the commission’s discovery of another alleged fake office operating within the OSGF, identified as the National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office.
How the fake office allegedly operated
Aliyu said the office was allegedly allocated space within the OSGF without presidential authorisation and contrary to existing regulations. The discovery emerged from the ICPC’s broader investigation into the fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), promoted by Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, and other procedural weaknesses across government agencies.
Aliyu said the National Brands Development office was allegedly promoted by 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.“
The ICPC chairman said Nwabueze was found to operate under several variations of his name, George Nathan, George Nathan Nwabueze, Honourable George Buchi Nwabueze, Prince George Buchi Nwabueze and George Nwabueze.
He said the commission had engaged OSGF officials to obtain relevant information concerning the office before briefing Tinubu on its findings.
“I have briefed Mr President comprehensively on these new developments. ICPC will continue with its investigations accordingly,” Aliyu said.
Tinubu’s directives and next steps
Following the briefing, Aliyu said the president issued two immediate directives.
“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.
Aliyu said the commission’s investigation remains ongoing, with further action possible as additional facts emerge, and that the ICPC would continue engaging OSGF officials to establish the full extent of the alleged scheme and identify all individuals potentially involved.
He commended Tinubu for previously ordering a forensic audit of government processes, describing it as a proactive step toward strengthening governance and closing loopholes that could enable abuse within the public service.
This is the third fictitious agency the ICPC has now uncovered as part of the broader PFIPC investigation, following its disclosure earlier this month that two additional fake bodies, the FCT Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA) and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency/Public-Private Partnership (FIPA-PPP), had also been created by Adeyemi. Adeyemi has already been recommended for prosecution in that separate matter.
