The man at the centre of the raging “fake agency” controversy, George Buchi Nwabueze, has hit back at the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, insisting that the controversial Made in Nigeria project has been part of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation for 16 years.
Nwabueze, National Coordinator and Executive Director of the National Brands Development and Made in Nigeria Special Project Office, dismissed claims that he created and operated an illegal federal agency.
According to him, the programme has been in the SGF’s office since July 16, 2010, making the ICPC’s claim that it had only just uncovered the outfit difficult to understand.
“Made in Nigeria Special Project Office is a project office in the OSGF. We don’t know where fake agency comes from,” Nwabueze reportedly told PUNCH.
He added that it was strange that a programme he claimed had existed within the government structure for 16 years would suddenly be labelled a fake agency.
“After 16 years; Nigeria is a funny country,” he said.
Nwabueze has also produced what he described as proof of his official status, posting an appointment letter issued by the OSGF to counter the allegations against him.
The document, dated October 3, 2025, and referenced OSGF/MIN/59310/11/205, was signed by the Permanent Secretary, Political and Economic Affairs Office, Nadungu Gagare.
The letter formally conveyed the approval of Nwabueze’s appointment as National Coordinator/Executive Director of the Made in Nigeria Project Office under the OSGF.
His appointment, according to the document, was for an initial five-year term beginning from July 2025, with the possibility of renewal.
The letter also outlined a wide range of responsibilities for Nwabueze, including supervising programmes and policies, coordinating regional and state officers, and organising trade fairs, exhibitions and economic summits aimed at promoting Nigerian-made goods and services.
It further stated that the project office would operate temporarily from Room B53, Ground Floor, within the OSGF complex in Abuja.
The project’s own published framework describes the initiative as being under the supervision of the Permanent Secretary, Political and Economic Affairs Office of the OSGF, with a mandate to promote local production, support small and medium-sized businesses and reduce dependence on imported goods.
The controversy, however, erupted after the ICPC announced that it had uncovered what it described as another fictitious government entity operating from the OSGF premises.
ICPC Chairman, Dr Musa Adamu Aliyu, identified Nwabueze as the promoter of the National Brands Development and Made in Nigeria Special Project Office and alleged that the outfit was operating without presidential authorisation, with the suspected involvement of senior public servants in the OSGF.
The commission’s findings reportedly prompted President Bola Tinubu to order Nwabueze’s immediate arrest and suspend three Permanent Secretaries linked to the OSGF pending further investigation.
ICPC also alleged that the outfit had developed an elaborate structure, including zonal directors, state coordinators and representatives outside Nigeria, raising fresh questions about how such an organisation could operate from government premises without attracting official scrutiny.
But with his appointment letter now in the public domain, Nwabueze appears determined to turn the tables on the allegation, insisting that the controversial project was not a creation of his own but an initiative that had existed within the government system for years.
The unfolding battle now leaves one major question hanging: Was the Made in Nigeria Project an authorised government programme that went unnoticed for years—or an unauthorised outfit operating from the heart of government?
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