‘Phantom’ agency: DG insists project has government backing

The Director-General of the National Brand Development and Made in Nigeria Special Project Office, Prince George Buchi Nwabueze, has rejected claims that the initiative is an unauthorised or “phantom” government agency, insisting that its operations are backed by official approvals and a subsisting court order.

The controversy followed a report by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, which alleged that an unauthorised agency was operating within the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

Nwabueze, through the project’s Directorate of Legal Affairs and Strategic Communications, said the Made in Nigeria Project was never established as a statutory government agency or a parallel civil service institution.

According to him, the initiative is an approved public-private project anchored on Executive Orders 003 of 2017 and 005 of 2018.

“The Made in Nigeria Project has never operated as, nor claimed to be, a statutory civil service agency. Rather, it is an approved Public-Private Project Initiative anchored on the presidential mandates of Executive Order 003 (2017) and Executive Order 005 (2018),” the statement said.

The management said the initiative was established to promote domestic manufacturing, support producers across the states and increase Nigeria’s non-oil exports.

It also cited an approval trail within the OSGF, including correspondence with reference number PS-PEAO/2025/008/4 from the Political and Economic Affairs Office.

According to the project management, the correspondence approved a five-member Technical Committee to oversee the initiative’s development objectives, monitoring framework and public-private implementation structures.

The organisation, which the ICPC report reportedly described as fictitious, currently has about 20 state coordinators and two country representatives in the United States and China.

The development comes amid reports that President Bola Tinubu had directed the arrest of Nwabueze.

However, Nwabueze said he had sought judicial protection over what he described as attempts to remove the project from the OSGF structure and suppress its official files.

He instituted Suit No. CV/2634/26 before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

The management said the court issued a Writ of Summons on June 10, 2026, directing the parties to maintain the status quo pending the determination of the substantive suit.

“In response to what it described as unlawful threats of administrative eviction and file suppression without due administrative process, Prince George Buchi Nwabueze sought judicial protection by instituting Suit No: CV/2634/26 before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja,” the statement said.

It added that the case remained sub judice.

The management also alleged that the project had faced administrative obstruction from some serving and retired officials within the OSGF.

It said it petitioned the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on May 15, 2026, over the alleged withholding and suppression of strategic project files.

One of the files cited was PS/PEAO/2025/008/66, which the management said related to Nigeria’s advance delegation to the 2026 Asia-Africa Summit and sub-national energy programmes.

It alleged that the administrative challenges had hampered the nationwide implementation of the project’s industrial development programmes.

Nwabueze said he had spent more than 16 years promoting domestic enterprise development and had secured partnerships and endorsements across 30 states.

He also expressed respect for President Bola Tinubu, the OSGF and the ICPC, while saying his legal team would submit certified copies of relevant approvals, memoranda and court documents to the appropriate authorities.

The management urged the media, business partners and members of the public to disregard what it described as “sensationalized and malicious reports” aimed at portraying the project as an illegitimate government initiative.