On Friday, the Nigerian government flagged another “fake” agency, with President Bola Tinubu suspending three top officials identified as enablers and ordering the arrest of the frontrunner.
This makes the fourth phoney agency that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has uncovered in its just-concluded 30-day investigation, which it submitted to Mr Tinubu.
The new agency- National Brands Development and Made in Nigeria Special Project Office- was uncovered by the ICPC barely two months after a similar case made headlines, ensnaring senior government officials, including the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.
The agency allegedly operates under the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), the ICPC chairperson, Musa Aliyu, told journalists after meeting with Mr Tinubu
The discovery came amid the ICPC’s investigation into the earlier case. Although the commission said the organisation operated without presidential authorisation, documents exclusively obtained by PREMIUM TIMES show that it presented itself to state governments as an official federal initiative operating from the OSGF.
