Mr President, how many fake DGs can you chase?

The Tinubu Presidency is intensifying its crackdown on fake agencies that have infiltrated government offices, with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) leading the charge. ICPC Chairman Musa Aliyu announced on Friday the discovery of yet another fictitious entity, the National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office, allegedly promoted by Prince George Buchi Nwabueze.

Aliyu's announcement came after his second meeting with the President in 48 hours, highlighting the urgency and ongoing nature of the investigation. The ICPC chairman has become a regular figure at the State House since the initial revelations about Prince Adeyemi's fake agency, the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIFC), came to light. Prince George's operation was reportedly based within the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and involved multiple aliases.

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How many fake agencies can the Tinubu Presidency go after at a time?

The President has ordered Prince George's immediate arrest and suspended three permanent secretaries: M.S. Danjuma, Nadungu Gagare, and Richard Pheelangwah. This latest discovery brings the total number of identified fake agencies or individuals operating them to at least six in recent months. These include Prince Adeyemi's PFIFC, the FCT Investment Promotion Agency, the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency and Public-Private Partnership, the Presidential Implementation Committee on the Alienation of Federal Government Properties, and Mr. Fegho Umunubo, who was reportedly acting in an official capacity despite no longer holding a position in the Vice President's office.

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Say, Prince Adeyemi’s PFIFC or Prince George’s agency. Okay? So, I sat there among my colleagues, listening to Aliyu reel out another episode of an ongoing soap opera whose production studio is in the Nigerian civil service.