₦airaland Forum

Are you aware that two more “fake agencies” have now been uncovered by the ICPC in Tinubu's Government?

And no, I am not talking about the widely discussed Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council saga involving Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew.

Apparently, that was only the beginning.

The ICPC has now reportedly uncovered another organisation, the National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office, allegedly operating without the required presidential authorisation.

But what makes this one particularly interesting is where it was allegedly operating: inside the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the SGF.

President Tinubu has now ordered the immediate arrest of Prince George Buchi Nwabueze, who is alleged to have promoted the organisation. But that is not all.

The President has also ordered the immediate suspension of three Permanent Secretaries: M.S. Danjuma, Engr. Nadungu Gagare and Richard P. Pheelangwah, over the matter.

And then, just when you think that is enough, another allegedly fictitious agency, the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency and Public-Private Partnership, has also surfaced in connection with the wider ICPC investigation.

Well, like you, nothing shocks me anymore.

But honestly, if these allegations are eventually established, there is something deeply troubling about the pattern emerging here.

We have spent years talking about corruption, ghost workers, inflated contracts and phantom projects.

Now we are apparently discovering phantom government agencies.

Agencies that allegedly have names, offices, officials and enough institutional presence to create the impression that they are legitimate arms of government.

And this is where the matter becomes bigger than the individuals involved.

Because one man can wake up tomorrow and invent an organisation. That is understandable.

But how does an allegedly fictitious government agency get close enough to the centre of government to operate from within the SGF's office?

How does it acquire recognition?

How does it gain access?

How does it survive?

And how many people have to look the other way, deliberately or otherwise, before something that does not officially exist begins to look like it does?

That, to me, is the real story.

The President's decision to order the arrest of the alleged promoter and the immediate suspension of three Permanent Secretaries is certainly significant. But Nigerians should hope this investigation does not end with “we have caught the man.”

We need to understand the system that allowed the man to get this far in the first place.

Because if a fictitious agency can allegedly find a place inside government, then the question is no longer simply:

“Who created the fake agency?”

It is:

“Who was running the real government while the fake one was operating?”

AhmedPeacemaker:
Are you aware that two more “fake agencies” have now been uncovered by the ICPC in Tinubu's Government?

And no, I am not talking about the widely discussed Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council saga involving Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew.

Apparently, that was only the beginning.

The ICPC has now reportedly uncovered another organisation, the National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office, allegedly operating without the required presidential authorisation.

But what makes this one particularly interesting is where it was allegedly operating: inside the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the SGF.

President Tinubu has now ordered the immediate arrest of Prince George Buchi Nwabueze, who is alleged to have promoted the organisation. But that is not all.

The President has also ordered the immediate suspension of three Permanent Secretaries: M.S. Danjuma, Engr. Nadungu Gagare and Richard P. Pheelangwah, over the matter.

And then, just when you think that is enough, another allegedly fictitious agency, the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency and Public-Private Partnership, has also surfaced in connection with the wider ICPC investigation.

Well, like you, nothing shocks me anymore.

But honestly, if these allegations are eventually established, there is something deeply troubling about the pattern emerging here.

We have spent years talking about corruption, ghost workers, inflated contracts and phantom projects.

Now we are apparently discovering phantom government agencies.

Agencies that allegedly have names, offices, officials and enough institutional presence to create the impression that they are legitimate arms of government.

And this is where the matter becomes bigger than the individuals involved.

Because one man can wake up tomorrow and invent an organisation. That is understandable.

But how does an allegedly fictitious government agency get close enough to the centre of government to operate from within the SGF's office?

How does it acquire recognition?

How does it gain access?

How does it survive?

And how many people have to look the other way, deliberately or otherwise, before something that does not officially exist begins to look like it does?

That, to me, is the real story.

The President's decision to order the arrest of the alleged promoter and the immediate suspension of three Permanent Secretaries is certainly significant. But Nigerians should hope this investigation does not end with “we have caught the man.”

We need to understand the system that allowed the man to get this far in the first place.

Because if a fictitious agency can allegedly find a place inside government, then the question is no longer simply:

“Who created the fake agency?”

It is:

“Who was running the real government while the fake one was operating?”

Tinubu Government is the more you see the less you understand