The National Coordinator and Executive Director of the National Brands Development and Made in Nigeria Special Project Office, George Buchi Nwabueze, has rejected allegations that he was operating a fictitious Federal Government agency.
Nwabueze, who spoke with Sunday PUNCH on Saturday, said the office he heads is a project office domiciled within the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and has been in existence for several years.
His response followed a statement by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission that President Bola Tinubu had ordered his arrest over the alleged operation and promotion of what the commission described as a fake Federal Government agency.
The ICPC had alleged that Nwabueze operated the outfit with the support of some senior officials within the OSGF.
But Nwabueze dismissed the allegation, insisting that the Made in Nigeria Special Project Office was an established project under the OSGF.
“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. After 16 years; Nigeria is a funny country,” he said.
In an apparent effort to counter the ICPC’s claim, Nwabueze shared on LinkedIn a letter purportedly issued by the OSGF conveying his appointment as National Coordinator and Executive Director of the Made in Nigeria Project Office.
The letter, dated October 3, 2025, was referenced OSGF/MIN/59310/11/205 and reportedly signed by the Permanent Secretary, Political and Economic Affairs Office, Nadungu Gagare.
According to the document, Nwabueze’s appointment was approved for a five-year tenure beginning from July 2025, with provision for renewal.
The letter stated that his responsibilities included overseeing programmes, projects and policies of the initiative, coordinating regional and state officials across the country, and organising exhibitions, trade fairs, economic summits and other activities designed to promote Nigerian products and services.
It also indicated that the project office was temporarily operating from a designated room within the OSGF complex in Abuja.
The letter noted that the appointment was subject to the pleasure of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and was in line with the objectives of the Made in Nigeria initiative under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
Nwabueze also published another document which showed that the project office had sought formal recognition as a Special Project.
The document, dated April 17, 2025, was addressed to the SGF and signed by Gagare.
Titled “A Proposal for the Made-in-Nigeria Project to be Granted Special Project Status,” the document said the initiative had been promoting Nigerian-made goods and services locally and internationally.
It cited the organisation of economic forums and trade exhibitions as some of its activities, while listing job creation, economic expansion, poverty reduction and increased domestic production among the expected benefits of granting the initiative special status.
The proposal further argued that promoting locally manufactured goods would reduce dependence on imports, conserve foreign exchange and strengthen Nigeria’s trade balance.
It also linked the initiative to the Federal Government’s efforts to diversify the economy away from crude oil and strengthen the non-oil sector.
However, the proposal acknowledged that the activities of the project were still subject to review and that appropriate operational arrangements would need to be developed.
The controversy stems from an investigation by the ICPC into the alleged fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.
The ICPC Chairman, Musa Aliyu, SAN, had said the Made in Nigeria Special Project Office was among the structures uncovered during the investigation.
Aliyu alleged that the office had been allocated space within the OSGF without presidential authorisation and identified Nwabueze as its promoter.
He further alleged that Nwabueze operated under different variations of his name and enjoyed the backing of some senior public servants within the OSGF.
However, documents released by Nwabueze appeared aimed at challenging the commission’s position that the project had no official government backing.
One of the documents highlighted a stakeholders’ engagement in Nasarawa State involving Governor Abdullahi Sule, who reportedly said the state had adopted the Federal Government’s Made in Nigeria initiative and provided for it in its 2026 budget.
The organisation’s online platforms also identified Nwabueze as its Executive Director and National Coordinator, while listing national, zonal and state coordinators as part of its administrative structure.
However, a staff member of the OSGF told Sunday PUNCH that the office had been shut for several months.
“It was not operating as an agency but I know it was under investigation. The office was shut months ago,” the source said.
The conflicting claims have raised questions about the legal and administrative status of the project office and its relationship with the OSGF.
While the ICPC insists that the outfit was unlawfully established or operated without the required presidential approval, Nwabueze’s documents indicate that the OSGF had formally appointed him to head the project.
The OSGF spokesman, Christopher Ugwuegbulam, reportedly requested a formal letter before responding to enquiries on the matter.
Efforts to reach the ICPC spokesman, John Odey, were unsuccessful as calls to his telephone line were not reachable at the time of filing the report.
Meanwhile, sources within the police said officers had yet to receive an official briefing concerning the alleged arrest order.
According to the sources, a manhunt would only commence after the police receive formal communication on the matter.