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 was operating a fake federal agency.
Nwabueze said the office was a project under the supervision of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and had been in existence for several years.
His response followed an announcement by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission that President Bola Tinubu had ordered his arrest over the alleged unauthorised operation of the office.
To support his claim, Nwabueze released an appointment letter purportedly issued by the OSGF.
The letter, dated October 3, 2025, stated that his appointment as National Coordinator and Executive Director of the Made-in-Nigeria Project Office had been approved for a five-year tenure beginning in July 2025.
It was signed by the Permanent Secretary in the Political and Economic Affairs Office, Nadungu Gagare.
According to the document, Nwabueze was responsible for coordinating programmes and policies aimed at promoting Nigerian-made products, supervising coordinators across the 36 states and organising trade exhibitions, economic summits and other promotional activities.
He also shared another document showing that the office had applied to be formally recognised as a Special Project under the OSGF.
The proposal said the initiative was designed to promote local products, create jobs, support domestic industries and reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported goods.
However, the ICPC maintains that the office was one of the outfits uncovered during its investigation into an alleged fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.
ICPC Chairman, Musa Aliyu, said investigators found that the office had been allocated space within the OSGF complex without presidential approval. He also alleged that Nwabueze had the backing of some senior public servants.
The controversy has now created conflicting accounts over whether the project office was properly authorised to operate under the OSGF.
An OSGF staff member told Sunday PUNCH that the office had been shut for several months and was not operating as an agency.
Meanwhile, police sources said they had not received an official briefing on the matter and would only begin a manhunt if formally directed to do so.
