Alleged fake agency claims Buhari-era approval after operating for 9 years
…maintains Federal Character
· Has Zonal Directors, 36-state Coordinator structure
· Industry, Trade and Investment listed as implementing ministry
By Omeiza Ajayi
The National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office, the alleged fake agency uncovered by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and domiciled in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, OSGF, for years, paraded itself as a properly constituted federal outfit.
It specifically claimed a Federal Executive Council (FEC) approval dating back to 2017 (nine years ago) under the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, while also taking care to mirror the Federal Character Principle in a nationwide network of appointments spanning virtually every part of the country, Sunday Vanguard checks have revealed.
Chairman of the ICPC, Dr Musa Aliyu, SAN, had disclosed to State House correspondents in Abuja that the Commission uncovered the alleged fake office in the course of its ongoing investigation into the fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) and other procedural weaknesses in the public service.
According to him: “Upon further briefing by ICPC to Mr President on the ongoing investigations into the fake PFIPC and procedural weaknesses in the public service, the ICPC has uncovered another fake agency and office operating under the name National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office, which has been illegally allocated office space within the premises of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.”
Aliyu identified the promoter of the office as one George Nwabueze, alleging that he operated under multiple aliases with the suspected collaboration of senior public servants in the OSGF.
He said: “The promoter Nwabueze was discovered to also operate under four other variations of his name: George Nathan, George Nathan Nwabueze, Hon. George Buchi Nwabueze, Prince George Buchi Nwabueze and George Nwabueze.”
A profile on the outfit’s own website listed one Nwabueze George as ‘Executive Director, National Coordinator,’ a designation that corroborates the name at the centre of the ICPC probe.
A review of the outfit’s website, madeinnigeriang.org, which had a lot of design and grammatical red flags, showed the scale of the structure the promoters had built around the alleged pseudo-agency.
The site described its vision as ‘Transforming The National From A Resource Dependent Nation Into A Vibrant Hub of Production Oriented Manufacturing Country, Turning The Population Into A Production Nation’.
It listed a seven-point core mandate covering economic promotion, revival of moribund factories through Build-Own-Operate-Transfer or Foreign Direct Investment arrangements, support for local brands, a national labelling and counterfeit surveillance system, and the promotion of Made-in-Nigeria products through trade fairs and exhibitions.
To lend itself legislative colour, the website also cited a purported “Bill for an Act to Establish the National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Promotion Commission and for Related Matters,” described as the National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Promotion Commission Act, 2025, complete with a preamble purportedly enacted by the National Assembly.
The outfit further claimed that the FEC had approved a “National Campaign to Sensitize Nigerians on the Patronage of Made-in-Nigeria Products” at its meeting of February 1, 2017, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, under the Buhari administration, and listed the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment as its implementing ministry.
Leadership structure
Beyond the paper claims, the alleged fake office had gone as far as constituting a shadow leadership structure whose composition appeared deliberately designed to reflect the diversity of the federation.
At the national level, the leadership comprised Dr Bassey B. Unaowo, presented as Special Assistant to the Permanent Secretary on Political and Economic Affairs in the OSGF, and Dr Hajara Njidda Amoni, listed as Director, National Administration, alongside Nwabueze.
Below them, three Zonal Directors anchored the geopolitical spread, namely Mr Oladunjoye Musiliua for the South-West, Barr. Hafsat Sahabi Dange for the North, and Mrs Ugochi Akudo Nwosu for the South-East.
That pattern of ethnic and regional balancing held firmly at the state level.
Coordinators drawn from the North-West included Dr Babangida Kabir Ruma for Katsina State, Hon. Abdulhaleem Ishaq Ringim for Kaduna State, Hussaini Abdullahi for Kebbi State, Hon. Ibrahim Bello Marafa for Zamfara State and Hon. Ibrahim Umar Aliyu for Sokoto State.
From the North-Central belt came Hon. Osolafia Muhammed for Nasarawa State, Mrs Salome Audu Bidda for Plateau State, Haj. Zainab Mohammed for Niger State, Hon. Orduen Andrew Ikon for Benue State and Hon. Justin Aondoaseer Tyopuusu, also of Benue extraction, while Hon. Olorukooba Bidemi covered Kogi State. Representing the North-East was Hon. Farouq Siyi for Bauchi State.
The South was represented in equal measure, with Hon. Dr Godwin Adolor coordinating Delta State in the South-South, Hon. Mrs Nwosu Chinyere R. and Hon. Chiamaka Nnake covering Abia and Anambra States respectively in the South East, and Amb. Orioye G. Benedict, Hon. Engr Kehinde Akintonide, Hon. Olugbemi Adetola Adelowokan and Alhaji Bello Kolawole Ghaffar coordinating Ondo, Ogun, Osun and Oyo States respectively in the South-West. Hon. Abubakar Ahmad Hichi, styled ‘Khalifa,’ rounded off the list, extending the ethnic and religious spread of the structure even further.
Each state coordinator bore the title ‘State Coordinator, National Brand Development and Made in Nigeria Project Office,’ and every profile carried an official-looking green and white insignia inscribed ‘National Brands Development, The Presidency, Made in Nigeria.’
Social media handles
To complete the appearance of a genuinely national, active and inclusive federal outfit, the promoters also ran social media handles under the tag ‘@pmainpro’ across Instagram, Facebook, Twitter (X) and LinkedIn, a public face that belied the fact that, according to ICPC, the entire office existed without presidential authorisation and contrary to extant laws.
The ICPC said its findings formed part of a broader ongoing probe that had earlier exposed the PFIPC, whose self-styled Director-General, Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, is already facing prosecution for alleged forgery and impersonation.
Following the briefing, President Bola Tinubu ordered the immediate arrest of Nwabueze and the suspension of three Permanent Secretaries, namely M.S. Danjuma, Engr Nadungu Gagare and Richard P. Pheelangwah, pending the outcome of investigations.
Aliyu said the Commission had engaged officials of the OSGF to obtain more information on how the alleged fictitious office secured accommodation within the Secretariat and would continue to unravel the roles played by the suspended officials and other individuals connected to the network of coordinators.
“I have briefed Mr President comprehensively on these new developments. ICPC will continue with its investigations accordingly,” Aliyu said.
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