New ‘Phantom’ Agency Courts SGF, Govs

The newly uncovered ‘phantom’ National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office did not operate quietly as it organised public events, promoted international trade programmes and invited diplomats, governors, senior government officials and other prominent Nigerians as guests or participants in its activities, Daily Trust reports.

The organisation, now under investigation by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for operating a fictitious government office, also listed serving and former government officials as its coordinators across various states, with representatives in at least two countries – United States and China.

The ICPC’s chairman, Musa Aliyu, said on Friday that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ordered the immediate arrest of George Buchi Nwabueze, whom it identified as the promoter of the office.

The president also ordered the suspension of three permanent secretaries after the discovery that the purported office had allegedly been allocated space within the premises of the OSGF without presidential authorisation.

Aliyu said Nwabueze operated under several variations of his name, including George Nathan Nwabueze, George Nwabueze, George Buchi Nwabueze and Prince George Buchi Nwabueze.

The ICPC’s investigation followed its earlier probe into the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council linked to Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi.

Information published on the organisation’s website and publicly available profiles of some of those linked to it show that the office presented itself as a government-backed national project with operations across Nigeria and representatives in other countries.

Nwabueze was listed as Executive Director and National Coordinator of the Made-in-Nigeria Project Office, Abuja, on the website.

The organisation claimed to operate under the supervision of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) and described itself as a strategic initiative for promoting Nigerian-made products, industrialisation, investment and economic development.

Governors, ministers featured in activities

The organisation associated itself with several prominent public officials through its events, publicity materials and online platforms.

It organised what it described as the official commissioning of the NADC Automotive Training Centre in Gusau, Zamfara State, alongside the graduation of 100 youths trained as technicians in specialised mechatronics in collaboration with NADC.

A flyer for the event listed Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal as a Special Guest. It also featured Senator John Onoh, Minister of State for Trade, Industry and Investment.

Checks on the Facebook page of the organisation’s head showed his photographs with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume. In one of the pictures, he genuflected to greet the SGF and was joined by a woman in another.

Daily Trust’s verification of the images using open-source intelligence tools found the photographs to be genuine, with no evidence of artificial intelligence manipulation.

The organisation’s administrative document also purportedly placed the supervision of its activities under the OSGF.

Photographs also emerged showing the organisation’s head meeting with the Nigeria Governors’ Forum.

Another event linked to the organisation was held in Lafia, Nasarawa State, on May 11, 2026. A publication on the event said Governor Abdullahi Sule attended the opening session of the National Brands Development and Made in Nigeria Project of the agency.

The event, held at the Late Aliyu Akwe Doma Banquet Hall, was described as a high-level stakeholders’ engagement organised in collaboration with the Nasarawa State Ministry of Water Resources and Rural Development.

It featured the formal inauguration of the Made-in-Nigeria Project, the unveiling of a State Executive Council framework and the launch of a Unified National Programme Framework on the project. Governor Sule was also decorated as Grand Patron of the organisation.

Checks revealed that the Made-in-Nigeria Project was inaugurated alongside coordinators from the 36 states at a ceremony held at the Government House in Lafia, Nasarawa.

A report published by the organisation on a stakeholders’ engagement in Nasarawa quoted Governor Sule as saying the state had domesticated the federal government’s Made-in-Nigeria initiative and included it in its 2026 budget.

“I’m happy to inform you that we did not only domesticate this project, but we also accord special attention to its operationalisation by including it in our 2026 budget,” he said.

Who is Buchi George Nwabueze?

The organisation’s website lists him as “Executive Director, National Coordinator.”

His online profile describes him as Hon. Buchi George Nwabueze and lists qualifications including LLB, LLM and MBA.

The profile identifies him as a United Nations Ambassador on the Millennium Development Goals, National Brand Development Plan Advocate, Investment and Economic Development Adviser and business executive.

It describes him as a “seasoned Brand Strategist, Business Development, Public and Policy Advocate” with expertise in foreign trade, bilateral partnerships, inward investments and economic affairs.

According to the profile, Nwabueze served as the National Coordinator and Executive Director of the National Centre for Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Project Office, which it said promoted “home grown Nigerian-made brands, products, goods and services” and drove national brand development and visibility.

The profile also lists him as Senior Special Adviser on Foreign Trade, Bilateral Partnerships, Inward Investment and Economic Affairs; Executive Adviser on the National Brand Development Plan Agenda; President of FOWCOM Limited; Executive Director of the Globe Economic and Trade Development Council; Founder and Chairman of the Council of the Globe Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and Executive Director of the World Economic and Investment Forum.

He is also identified as Chief Executive Officer of the National Exhibition Centre, National Fabrication and Research Development Centre and National Products Galleria.

The organisation’s website listed Dr Bassey B. Unaowo as “Special Assistant to the Permanent Secretary on Political and Economic Affairs, OSGF.”

It listed Dr Hajara Njidda Amoni as Director, National Administration; Mr Oladunjoye Musiliua as Zonal Director, South-West; Barrister Hafsat Sahabi Dange as Zonal Director, North; and Mrs Ugochi Akudo Nwosu as Zonal Director, South-East.

Nwosu was identified in publicly available information as a former director overseeing the Office of the Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy. She was also identified as Director of the Entertainment and Creative Services Department.

Meet the state coordinators

The website lists 20 state coordinators: Dr Babangida Kabir Ruma for Katsina; Abdulhaleem Ishaq Ringim for Kaduna; Dr Godwin Adolor for Delta; Hussaini Abdullahi, Esq. for Kebbi; Olugbemi Adetola Adelowokan for Osun; Chiamaka Nnake for Anambra; Dr. Osolafia Muhammed Egye for Nasarawa; Mrs Salome Audu Bidda for Plateau; Orduen Andrew Ikon for Benue; Amb. Orioye G. Benedict for Ondo and Engr. Kehinde Akintonide, for Ogun.

Others are Ibrahim Umar Aliyu for Sokoto; Mrs Nwosu Chinyere R. for Abia; Ibrahim Bello Marafa for Zamfara; Haj. Zainab Mohammed for Niger; Abubakar Ahmad Bichi (Khalifa) for Kano; Justin Aondoaseer Tyopuusu for Taraba; Alhaji Bello Kolawole Ghaffar, for Oyo; Farouq Siyi for Bauchi and Hon. Olorukooba Bidemi for Kogi.

Publicly available information revealed that some of the state coordinators are former or serving government officials in their states.

Dr Ruma, the organisation’s state coordinator in Katsina, was Technical Assistant to the state Governor on Enterprise Development and currently serves as Director General of the Katsina State Enterprise Development Agency, where he supports micro, small and medium-sized businesses.

Ringim is the Special Assistant to the Governor of Kaduna State on Economic Matters and State Coordinator for Kaduna of the African Union Development Agency, AUDA-NEPAD.

For Delta State, information published online states that Governor Sheriff Oborevwori appointed Dr Godwin Adolor, FCIB, as state coordinator of the Made in Nigeria Project. Adolor also serves as Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the Delta State Micro, Small & Medium Development Agency.

Nnake, listed as Anambra State Coordinator, was identified as a former Secretary to the Anambra State Government, while Bidda, the Plateau State Coordinator, was a former General Manager of the Plateau State Tourism Corporation.

Dr Egye, popularly known as Deedat, is described as a Nigerian academic, researcher and public official from Nasarawa State. He previously served as Senior Special Assistant on Humanitarian Services to Governor Sule.

Benedict, the Ondo State Coordinator, is a former Senior Special Assistant to the Ondo State Governor on Youth Empowerment and Job Creation. He was also identified as an ambassador associated with the Ondo State Government.

Information on the remaining state coordinators listed on the organisation’s website could not be independently established from the publicly available profiles reviewed.

The website also listed Emmanuel Enemali Achema as “Country Rep/Coordinator, U.S.A. and Ameh Enedugbojo Glory as “Country Rep/Coordinator, China.”

The claimed international structure was presented alongside the state and zonal network as part of the organisation’s purported nationwide and international operations.

What the organisation claimed

The organisation claimed that the Made-in-Nigeria initiative was conceived in 2006 during the Nigeria-Singapore Economic Forum.

It said the project was later formalised under the leadership of Ambassador Chike Alex Anigbo and approved by the Federal Executive Council in 2017.

It claimed that the initiative initially operated as a public-private partnership with Trade Nigeria before it was allegedly institutionalised under the OSGF.

The website cited the Nigeria-Ireland, Nigeria-South Korea, the Nigeria-Singapore and the Nigeria-Poland Economic Fora as previous test cases.

It also displayed information about an alleged Federal Executive Council’s approval for the National Campaign on the Patronage of Made-in-Nigeria products at a meeting held at the State House in 2017.

However, the purported approval did not expressly state that the activities of the organisation itself had been endorsed by the Federal Executive Council.

The organisation said its programmes were designed to increase self-reliance, reduce import dependence, create jobs and promote Nigerian-made products locally and internationally.

The website also published a section titled “Nigeria Industrialization and National Development: The Need for Skill Up and National Product Gallery.”

It argued that Nigeria needed to move from a resource-based economy to mass manufacturing and a strong service sector.

It identified diversification beyond oil, infrastructure development, access to finance, skilled labour, innovation, entrepreneurship and regional integration through the African Continental Free Trade Area as key components of industrialisation.

The organisation identified unreliable power supply, inadequate transportation and logistics infrastructure, limited access to finance, shortage of skilled labour, corruption and governance problems, oil dependence and limited access to technology as major challenges.

Among its proposed strategies were investment in agriculture and solid minerals, improvement of infrastructure, investment in human capital, promotion of innovation and entrepreneurship, strengthening of financial systems, improvement of the business environment, public-private partnerships and regional integration.

It also referenced the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan, Export Expansion Grant and “One Local Government, One Factory, One Product” initiative as examples of industrialisation efforts.

OSGF documents raise questions

Fresh documents from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation have raised questions over the history and official status of the agency.

The documents appear to contradict a key claim attributed to the organisation’s Executive Director, George Nwabueze, that the Made-in-Nigeria initiative had been domiciled in the OSGF since July 16, 2010.

While the initiative’s exact history remains unclear, an OSGF memo dated April 17, 2025 describes the project as having operated for only “about five years” and, significantly, seeks approval from the SGF to grant it formal Special Project status.

The development comes after the ICPC said President Bola Tinubu had ordered Nwabueze’s arrest over allegations that he was operating and promoting an unauthorised government outfit with the backing of senior public servants in the OSGF.

Nwabueze had previously dismissed the allegation, saying the project was not a fake agency and had operated from the SGF’s office for years.

“Made in Nigeria Special Project Office is a project office in the OSGF. We don’t know where the 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.”

However, attempts to obtain clarification from Nwabueze on the apparent discrepancies proved unsuccessful.

Emails and LinkedIn messages sent to him seeking answers to specific questions about the project’s establishment, legal status, funding and his appointment were not answered. His LinkedIn account was also subsequently deactivated.

Efforts to obtain an official response from the OSGF were also unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.

The April 17, 2025 memo, referenced PS-PEAO/2025/008/4 and signed by the Permanent Secretary, Political and Economic Affairs Office, Engr. Gagare Nadungu, was addressed to the SGF.

It proposed that the Made-in-Nigeria Project be granted the status of a Special Project under the Permanent Secretary, Political and Economic Affairs Office in the OSGF.

The memo said: “The Made-in-Nigeria Project has been in operation for about five years now, promoting made-in-Nigeria products and services locally and internationally.”

According to the document, the initiative had organised economic fora and trade exhibitions in several parts of the world and had contributed to the Nigerian economy, particularly in the area of foreign direct investment.

It listed increased employment, GDP growth, poverty reduction, support for local industries, reduced import dependence and economic diversification among the anticipated benefits of granting the project Special Project status.

The proposal also linked the initiative to government policies on economic diversification, reduction of dependence on crude oil and promotion of the non-oil sector.

But beyond describing the initiative’s activities, the memo reveals that its administrative status was apparently still being formalised in 2025.

The permanent secretary asked the SGF to consider granting the project Special Project status after a review of its activities and the development of operational modalities.

The memo further sought approval for the constitution of a five-man Technical Committee to develop the project’s objectives, implementation framework, monitoring and evaluation framework, key performance indicators, funding arrangements, project structure and the roles of critical stakeholders.

It stated that granting Special Project status would enhance the initiative’s credibility and performance and help it meet its mandate.

The wording raises a fundamental question: if the initiative had already been an established OSGF project since 2010, why was the OSGF seeking to formally grant it Special Project status in April 2025 and develop its operational framework?

Nwabueze’s appointment letter

Another document provides a second significant marker in the timeline. An appointment letter dated October 3, 2025, signed by Gagare Nadungu, formally conveyed the approval of Nwabueze’s appointment as National Coordinator/Executive Director of the Made in Nigeria Project Office under the OSGF.

The letter said the appointment followed “a careful evaluation” of Nwabueze’s commitment, contribution and capacity to deliver on the mandate of the Special Project Office.

His appointment was for a five-year tenure beginning in July 2025 and renewable.

His responsibilities included supervising programmes, projects and policies; overseeing regional and state coordinators across the 36 states, and organising exhibitions, trade expos, economic summits and other promotional initiatives to promote economic development through indigenous products and services.

The letter also stated that the project office would temporarily operate from Room B53, Ground Floor, within the OSGF complex.

It further said the appointment was “at the pleasure of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.”

The document therefore establishes that Nwabueze had a formal appointment from the OSGF in 2025. It does not, however, by itself establish that the project office had existed as a formally constituted government entity since 2010.

Unanswered Questions

The central issue, therefore, is not simply whether the organisation had physical access to the OSGF or whether officials were aware of its activities, but which legal instrument created it, who authorised its operations, when it acquired its purported government status and under whose authority it received office space and operated nationwide.

The documents place three dates at the centre of the controversy: July 16, 2010, the date Nwabueze said the programme began operating from the SGF’s office; April 17, 2025, when the OSGF proposed granting the initiative Special Project status and July 2025, when Nwabueze’s five-year appointment commenced. The discrepancy is significant.

Analysts observe that if the agency had existed within the OSGF since 2010, what document established it? Was it created by presidential directive, an administrative decision of the OSGF, a budgetary provision or another government instrument?

If it had been operating for years, under what structure was it funded and supervised, as the agency did not have an allocation in the current and previous budgets?

And if it already had official status, why did the OSGF propose in April 2025 that it be granted Special Project status and establish a technical committee to develop its operational framework?

Those questions were put to Nwabueze, but he did not respond to the emails and LinkedIn messages sent to him. His LinkedIn account was subsequently deactivated.

Attempts to obtain clarification from the OSGF through the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the SGF, Yomi Odunuga and the Head of Information and Public Relations, Chris Ugwuegbulam, were not responded to.

We wrote to OSGF on agency’s legal status – Nasarawa coordinator

The Nasarawa State Coordinator, Egye, said 14 state coordinators had sought clarification from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on the project’s legal status, their appointment letters and funding, but received no response.

He said the 14 coordinators met on July 20 and resolved to write the SGF for clarification on the project’s status and operations. According to him, a letter was sent to the SGF on August 7, but no response had been received.

He said Nasarawa State had, however, followed due process in domesticating the project after its nomination through the SGF’s office.

Ege said the state developed an operational framework, administrative manual and five-year strategic plan, which were ratified by the Nasarawa State Executive Council on December 5, 2025.

He added that the project was captured in the state’s 2026 budget because it received no funding from the national level.

Operations commenced in March, with the state providing five office spaces and redeploying relevant staff.

Egye said the project had identified seven areas of intervention, including salt production, organic fertiliser and recycling, and cassava starch production.

He said the state would be briefed by the Office of the Secretary to the State Government on Monday before deciding its next step.

Kano, Gombe, Edo govts deny knowledge

The Kano, Gombe and Edo state governments have denied knowledge of the existence of the agency’s office in their respective states.

In Kano, the Commissioner for Information and Home Affairs, Ibrahim Wayya, said the state government was not aware of the agency or its purported nomination of a state coordinator.

“As far as the Kano government is concerned, we are not aware of the existence of any agency going by that name. We have nothing to do with a fake agency,” he said.

Similarly, the Chief Press Secretary to the Kano State Secretary to the Government, Musa Tanko, said the agency was unknown to the state government.

In Gombe, the government also said it had no record of the project office operating in the state.

The governor’s spokesperson, Ismaila Uba Misilli, said checks with relevant ministries, departments and agencies showed that there was no record of such an office.

“We are not aware of the existence of any agency bearing the name National Brand Development and Made-in-Nigeria Project Office here in Gombe,” he said.

The Edo State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Prince Kassim Afegbua, said the government was not aware of any such office in Edo.

“We are not aware of such office; it doesn’t exist in Edo. How can we appoint a state coordinator for a non-existing office?” he asked.

Ondo shifts responsibility to FG

The spokesperson to the governor of Ondo State, Ebenezer Adeniyan, said: “We will leave this issue to be handled by the Federal Government where it originated from.”

When asked if due diligence was done before nominating the coordinator, Adeniyan said there was no way the government would know it is a fake agency

“The federal government should be the one to investigate that; all we do is to only nominate,” he said.

The permanent secretary of the Ogun State Ministry of Works and Infrastructure, Kehinde Akintomide, is listed as the State Coordinator. Findings by our correspondent, however, showed a disparity in the surname of the coordinator.

On the phantom agency’s website, the name is listed as “Hon. Engr. Kehinde Akintonide, FNSE”, but our correspondent gathered that his correct name is “Engr. Kehinde Akintomide.”

The disparity observed is in the surnames “Akintonide” and “Akintomide.”

However, a reliable source in the state civil service confirmed that it is a spelling mistake.

“He is the same person,” the source confirmed.

Daily Trust further gathered that Akintomide was the permanent secretary, Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, before he was redeployed to the Works Ministry recently.

He was the Director of Industrial Promotion in the former ministry when he was nominated to serve as the coordinator in the phantom agency, another source told Daily Trust.

Akintomide was appointed Permanent Secretary in January this year and served briefly in the ministry before his redeployment to the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure.

A source told Daily Trust how Akintomide was nominated as the Coordinator for Ogun State in the ‘fake’ agency.

“That letter reportedly came from the presidency to all the state governors for nominations. From the governor’s table, it was sent to the commissioner of the appropriate ministry. The commissioner in that ministry then asked the Director—he (Akintomide) was the director then—to represent them. They sent his name and his picture. But the coordinators were never inaugurated,” the source said.

When our correspondent contacted the affected permanent secretary, he declined to comment, saying he needed clearance from the Head of Service to respond to enquiries.

CSO calls for independent probe

The Chancellor of the International Society for Social Justice and Human Rights (ISSJHR), Omenazu Jackson, has demanded an independent investigation into how the agency gained access to senior public officials and institutions despite questions surrounding its legal status.

Speaking to Daily Trust, Jackson said the organisation’s alleged ability to operate openly and associate with senior government officials was more troubling than its existence alone.

He said, “What is particularly disturbing is not merely the alleged existence of such an organisation, but the apparent ease with which it could gain public recognition, interact with senior government officials and project itself as a legitimate government institution.

“If these engagements are authentic, they raise a fundamental institutional question: How could an organisation allegedly lacking proper governmental authorisation gain sufficient access, visibility and official recognition to operate at such a high level without the relevant institutions detecting and resolving the anomaly?”

However, he cautioned against assuming that public officials who appeared at events or were associated with the organisation were aware of or involved in any alleged wrongdoing.

“However, the circumstances warrant independent and objective scrutiny,” he added.

Jackson said the issue went beyond individual responsibility and exposed what he described as a potential weakness in Nigeria’s system of governmental authentication, institutional coordination, security intelligence and due diligence.

“Where an organisation can penetrate official circles, interact with senior government authorities and represent itself as a government institution without effective verification, the vulnerability extends beyond administrative negligence,” he said.

Jackson warned that such loopholes could potentially be exploited for fraud, impersonation, unauthorised collection of funds, recruitment, intelligence gathering, influence operations or other activities capable of undermining public confidence in government.

He said, “If an alleged fake government agency could reach the corridors of the highest levels of government without being detected, the question is no longer only ‘Who created it?’ The bigger question is: ‘How did the system fail to detect it?’” (Daily trust)