The National Coordinator and Executive Director of the National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office, George Nwabueze, has rejected allegations by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission that he is operating a fake government agency.
Nwabueze, who spoke against the backdrop of President Bola Tinubu’s directive for his arrest, said the office is a project office under the supervision of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
He also released documents which he said demonstrate that the office and his appointment have official backing from the Federal Government.
The controversy followed the ICPC’s disclosure on Friday that it had uncovered what it described as another fake agency operating within the premises of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
ICPC Chairman, Musa Aliyu, said the office, known as the National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office, had allegedly been allocated office space within the OSGF without presidential authorisation and contrary to extant regulations.
Aliyu identified Nwabueze as the promoter of the office and said the investigation had uncovered suspected collaborators within the OSGF.
Following the briefing, President Tinubu directed the immediate arrest of Nwabueze and ordered the suspension of three permanent secretaries M.S. Danjuma, Nadungu Gagare and Richard P. Pheelangwah pending further action.
However, Nwabueze has disputed the ICPC’s characterisation of the office.
He added that the Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office had existed under the SGF’s office since 2010 and questioned why it was now being described as a fake agency.
To support his position, Nwabueze released an appointment letter purportedly issued by the OSGF.
The document, addressed to “Hon. George Buchi Nwabueze, National Coordinator, Made in Nigeria Project Office, OSGF, Three Arms Zone, Abuja,” conveyed approval of his appointment as National Coordinator/Executive Director of the project office under the OSGF.
According to the letter, his appointment was for a five-year tenure beginning in July 2025 and was renewable. It said the appointment followed an assessment of his commitment, contribution and capacity to deliver on the mandate of the Special Project Office.
Nwabueze also shared another document dated April 17, 2025, which proposed that the Made-in-Nigeria initiative be granted special-project status.
The document, signed by the Permanent Secretary, Political and Economic Affairs Office, Nadungu Gagare, and addressed to the SGF, stated that the initiative had been operating for about five years and had promoted Nigerian-made products and services locally and internationally.
The development has created conflicting claims about the status of the office, with the ICPC maintaining that it uncovered an unauthorised government outfit, while Nwabueze insists that it is an established project operating under the OSGF.
The ICPC said its investigation is continuing and that it had engaged officials of the OSGF to obtain further information concerning the office.
The commission’s latest findings form part of a broader investigation ordered by President Tinubu following the discovery of the disputed Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council and other bodies alleged to have operated without proper government authorisation.
The ICPC has said its ongoing probe is aimed at determining the extent of the alleged irregularities and identifying those responsible.
Nwabueze’s documents, however, introduce a competing account that will likely form part of the evidence to be examined as authorities determine whether the Made-in-Nigeria office was legitimately established and operated with proper government approval.
