‘Fake agency’ boss fights back with appointment letter

The National Coordinator and Executive Director of the National Brands Development and Made in Nigeria Special Project Office, George Nwabueze, has denied allegations that he is running a “fake agency” in the country.

Nwabueze, who spoke with Sunday PUNCH on Saturday, said he headed an office under the supervision of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and noted that the office had existed for 16 years.

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission had on Friday said President Bola Tinubu ordered Nwabueze’s arrest over his alleged role in running and promoting an outfit the commission described as a fake federal agency.

The ICPC alleged that Nwabueze operated the outfit in collaboration with some senior public servants in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

However, Nwabueze, responding to enquiries from Sunday PUNCH, said the Made in Nigeria Special Project Office was a project office domiciled in the OSGF and questioned the basis for describing it as a fake agency.

“Made in Nigeria Special Project Office is a project office in the OSGF. We don’t know where fake agency comes from. A programme that has been in the SGF’s office since 16 July 2010 was just discovered yesterday (Friday). After 16 years; Nigeria is a funny country,” he said.

Nwabueze spoke while responding to enquiries on LinkedIn, where he had earlier shared his appointment letter in an attempt to counter the ICPC’s claim that the outfit lacked official backing. The letter, dated October 3, 2025, was purportedly issued by the OSGF and signed by the Permanent Secretary, Political and Economic Affairs Office, Nadungu Gagare.

The letter, 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 Made in Nigeria Project Office under the OSGF.

According to the document, the appointment was for a five-year tenure beginning from July 2025 and was renewable. It stated that the appointment followed an assessment of Nwabueze’s “commitment, contribution, and capacity” to deliver on the mandate of the Special Project Office.

The document listed his responsibilities to include supervising and developing programmes, projects and policies; coordinating regional and state coordinators across the 36 states; and organising exhibitions, trade expos, economic summits and other promotional initiatives aimed at promoting indigenous products and services.

It further stated that the project was to operate temporarily from Room B53, Ground Floor, within the OSGF complex and that the appointment was at the pleasure of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and aligned with the objectives of the Made in Nigeria initiative under the Renewed Hope Agenda.

Special status request

Another document shared by Nwabueze on LinkedIn on Saturday showed that his office had sought to be granted Special Project status.

The document, dated April 17, 2025, was signed by Gagare and addressed to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. Titled, “A proposal for the Made-in-Nigeria Project to be granted Special Project status,” it stated that the initiative had been operating for about five years and had promoted Nigerian-made products and services locally and internationally.

The proposal claimed that the initiative had organised economic forums and trade exhibitions in several parts of the world and contributed to the Nigerian economy, particularly through foreign direct investment.

It listed increased employment opportunities, economic growth and poverty reduction among the expected benefits of granting the project special status, while also projecting that the initiative would support GDP growth by strengthening local industries and encouraging domestic production.

The document also stated that the initiative would reduce imports by encouraging Nigerians to patronise locally made products, thereby reducing dependence on imported goods, conserving foreign exchange and improving the country’s trade balance.

It added that the initiative aligned with Federal Government efforts to diversify the economy, reduce dependence on crude oil and promote the non-oil sector.

A fake agency?

ICPC Chairman, Dr Musa Aliyu, SAN, had identified the National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office as one of the outfits uncovered during the commission’s investigation into the alleged fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.

Aliyu said investigators discovered the office while probing the PFIPC and what he described as procedural weaknesses within the public service.

According to him, the office had been allocated space within the OSGF premises without presidential authorisation. He identified Prince George Buchi Nwabueze as the promoter of the outfit and alleged that he operated under different variations of his name with the backing of some senior public servants in the OSGF.

However, documents released by Nwabueze appear to challenge the allegation that the project office had no official backing.

One of the reports shared on the organisation’s LinkedIn page documented a stakeholders’ engagement in Nasarawa State involving Governor Abdullahi Sule. The report quoted Sule as saying the state had domesticated the Federal Government’s Made-in-Nigeria initiative and included it in its 2026 budget.

The report also quoted Nwabueze as saying the initiative was domiciled in the OSGF and responsible for promoting the national brand. He added that a National Brand Processing and Packaging Centre would be established in Nasarawa State.

The organisation’s website also identified “Nwabueze George” as “Executive Director, National Coordinator,” while its structure featured national, zonal and state coordinators.

Office shut for months, says OSGF official

However, a staff member of the OSGF told Sunday PUNCH that the office had been shut for months.

“It was not operating as an agency but I know was under investigation… The office was shut months ago,” the source said.

The development leaves questions over the status of the project office, particularly the conflicting claims over its authorisation and relationship with the OSGF.

While the ICPC maintains that the office was illegally allocated space within the OSGF without presidential authorisation, documents released by Nwabueze include an appointment letter purportedly issued by the OSGF appointing him to head the project office.

The OSGF spokesman, Christopher Ugwuegbulam, when contacted, asked the correspondent to write a letter to his office before a response could be obtained.

Efforts to reach the ICPC spokesman, John Odey, were unsuccessful as of the time of filing the report, while sources in the police force said the police had yet to be officially briefed about the matter.