Tinubu Orders Arrest of Nwabueze, Suspends Three Permanent Secretaries Over Alleged Fake Agency

President Bola Tinubu has ordered the immediate arrest of Prince George Buchi Nwabueze and the suspension of three permanent secretaries following the discovery of another alleged fake government agency operating within the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).

The development was disclosed on Friday by the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Musa Adamu Aliyu, after briefing President Tinubu at the State House in Abuja.

According to the ICPC, the agency, identified as the National Brands Development and Made in Nigeria Special Project Office, was allegedly operating from premises within the SGF’s office without presidential authorisation.

The commission said the discovery was made as part of its broader investigation into alleged fictitious government entities and weaknesses in the processes used to establish and operate public institutions.

Nwabueze was identified as the alleged promoter of the office. Following the ICPC’s briefing, President Tinubu directed that he be arrested immediately while investigations continue.

The President also ordered the immediate suspension of three permanent secretaries identified as M.S. Danjuma, Engineer Nadungu Gagare and Richard Pheelangwah.

The latest discovery comes shortly after the ICPC began investigating another alleged fictitious government body, the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC). The commission said the new case emerged during that wider investigation.

ICPC officials have also engaged the Office of the SGF to obtain documents and other information concerning the alleged agency. The commission said its investigation remains ongoing and that additional actions could follow as more facts emerge.

The development has renewed attention on the Federal Government’s efforts to strengthen oversight of government institutions and prevent individuals from creating or operating unauthorised bodies under the appearance of official government agencies.

The ICPC chairman said the investigation would seek to establish how the alleged office was able to operate within the SGF complex and identify anyone who may have facilitated its activities.

For now, the allegations remain subject to investigation, while the presidential directives mark a fresh escalation in the Federal Government’s scrutiny of unauthorised entities operating within its administrative structures.