Tinubu suspends three permanent secretaries, orders arrest of fake agency promoter

President Bola Tinubu has suspended three Permanent Secretaries and ordered the arrest of a private individual after the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) uncovered a second fake government agency operating inside the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).

ICPC Chairman Dr. Musa Aliyu disclosed this on Friday while briefing State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. He said the fake agency, identified as the National Brands Development and Mandates in the Nigeria Special Project Office, had been allocated office space within the SGF’s premises without authorisation.

What the ICPC is saying

Aliyu said the President had been comprehensively briefed on the new developments and had immediately issued directives for both the arrest of the promoter and the suspension of the Permanent Secretaries responsible for overseeing the affected offices.

“The ICPC has uncovered another fake agency and office operating under the name National Brands Development and Mandates in the Nigeria Special Project Office, which had been illegally allocated office space within the premises of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation,” he said.

“Accordingly, Mr President has directed the immediate arrest of Prince George Buchi Nwabueze and the immediate suspension of the following Permanent Secretaries: M.S Danjuma, Engineer Nadungu Gagare, and Richard Pheelangwah,” he added.

Aliyu identified the promoter of the fake agency as Prince George Nwabueze, saying he allegedly operated the entity without authorisation from the President and in violation of laws governing the establishment and operation of government agencies. The ICPC has engaged the Office of the SGF to obtain vital information relating to the fake agency and would continue its investigation as the commission works to map the full extent of the administrative breach.

Background to the fake agency scandal

The discovery widens what began as a budget scandal involving the N1.3 billion appropriated for the fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) in the 2026 Appropriation Act. The controversy started after the PFIPC was alleged to have received the allocation despite the Presidency maintaining that no such government agency had been formally established.

In early July, the dispute escalated after the alleged Director General of the PFIPC, Adeniyi Adeyemi, publicly challenged the Presidency’s denial, pointing to references to the PFIPC and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) in the 2026 budget. President Tinubu subsequently directed the ICPC to conduct a comprehensive investigation.

The police later filed charges against Adeyemi over allegations including forgery and impersonation, while the Federal High Court in Abuja issued a warrant for his arrest after he failed to appear for proceedings on July 14. Investigators alleged that the purported agency operated from the Federal Secretariat Complex in Abuja.

On July 24, the Budget Office said the N1.3 billion appropriation never became actual government expenditure because the required payroll, cash release and procurement processes were not completed. The House of Representatives subsequently opened its own investigation into how the PFIPC, which lawmakers said was not legally established, allegedly secured office space and received a N1.32 billion allocation in the 2026 budget.

What you should know

Earlier this month, the ICPC concluded its investigation into the PFIPC, finding that the Federal Government never established the agency and that the appointment letter presented by Adeyemi was forged. The findings were disclosed by ICPC Chairman Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu (SAN) during a press conference in Abuja after submitting an interim investigation report to President Tinubu. He said the investigation established that the alleged Director-General had no legal basis for claiming a federal appointment.

The latest discovery also underscores the importance of the forensic audit of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System and internal government processes that the President had earlier ordered. Aliyu described the fake agency as evidence of the administrative loopholes the audit was designed to identify and close.

For Nigerian businesses and investors, the repeated uncovering of phantom agencies raises fresh questions about public sector governance and the integrity of budget allocations. That matters for anyone tracking fiscal discipline and the government’s ability to manage public resources effectively.