FG Cracks Down on Fake Agency, Suspends Three Permanent Secretaries

The Federal Government has suspended three Permanent Secretaries and ordered the arrest of those behind an alleged fake government agency, widening its crackdown on irregularities within the public service.

President Bola Tinubu ordered the action after the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission uncovered what it described as another fictitious agency operating within the premises of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

The three suspended Permanent Secretaries are M.S. Danjuma, Nadungu Gagare and Richard P. Pheelangwah. The President also directed the immediate arrest of George Buchi Nwabueze, who was identified by the ICPC as the alleged promoter of the office.

The office operated under the name National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office. According to the ICPC, it had been allocated office space within the SGF’s premises despite allegedly lacking the required legal and presidential authorisation.

ICPC Chairman, Dr Musa Aliyu, SAN, disclosed the development after briefing President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa. He said the discovery emerged during the commission’s wider investigation into the earlier fake Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council scandal and weaknesses within the public service.

Investigators also alleged that Nwabueze operated under several variations of his name, including George Nathan, George Nathan Nwabueze, Honourable George Buchi Nwabueze and Prince George Buchi Nwabueze. The ICPC said it was continuing its investigation into the suspected collaborators and the circumstances that allowed the office to operate.

The latest discovery has widened the controversy surrounding fake government bodies. The earlier investigation had already exposed the fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, whose self-styled Director-General, Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, is facing prosecution over alleged forgery and impersonation.

An ICPC interim report submitted to the President on August 6, 2026, had also identified two other alleged fictitious bodies — the FCT Investment Promotion Agency and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency and Public-Private Partnership.

With the latest discovery, the National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office becomes the fourth alleged fake agency uncovered in the expanding investigation. The scandal has now shifted attention to how unauthorised bodies allegedly found their way into structures connected to the Federal Government and who may have helped them operate.

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