Presidency Awaits ICPC Findings as SGF Officials Deny Agency Irregularities

The controversy surrounding the status of the project may have been triggered by an internal disagreement between promoter of the National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office, George Nwabueze, and some directors in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF).

Several officials in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, who spoke on condition of anonymity, alleged that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC) was misled into considering the initiative as an unauthorized government agency.

The officials say the project office is fake and a dispute between Nwabueze and some directors led to a petition to the anti-corruption agency.

One of the officials insisted the organization was set up as a project office, not a statutory government agency.

It is not a fake agency, according to one official. It is an Office Project. Some directors misled the ICPC to think it is a fake agency.

“There was a disagreement between him (Nwabueze) and some directors over some issues, which made the directors to petition the ICPC over some person running a fake office.

“Instead of the ICPC doing due diligence, they saw it as an opportunity to make a statement that they have found another fake agency. Far from it. It’s a project office, not an agency. “It can fall any time.”

“How does a project office turn into an agency, and why has it been working in that office since 2010? “The ICPC didn’t find anything; they were misled by some people at the SGF’s office who have scores to settle with the promoter of that office,” another official added.

Recall that the ICPC had announced that it had uncovered what it described as another fake government agency operating in the OSGF.

After briefing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, ICPC Chairman, Dr Musa Aliyu (SAN) told State House correspondents that the President ordered the arrest and prosecution of Nwabueze and the suspension of three Permanent Secretaries.

The suspended PS are Nandungu Gagare, MS Danjuma and Richard Pheelangwa.

A highly placed source in the ICPC office however said that no arrest had been made days after the President directive and that Nwabueze was not in the Commission’s custody.

The source had no more to add.

Nwabueze also disagreed with the description of the National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office as an unauthorized government agency.

In a statement issued on his behalf by the Directorate of Legal Affairs and Strategic Communications, he accused some serving and retired officials of the OSGF of frustrating the project through administrative sabotage and suppression of official files.

“It is a special project of the OSGF and not a separate agency,” he said.

The statement said he petitioned the SGF on May 15, 2026 over the alleged withholding of strategic project files including one relating to the country’s advance delegation to the Asia-Africa Summit 2026 and sub-national energy programs.

He said that he has filed Suit No. CV/2634/26 before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, over what he described as threats of administrative eviction and file suppression.

He said the suit was filed to stop any attempt to take the project out of the OSGF without going through the proper administrative process.

“The whole matter is still subjudice before a court of competent jurisdiction,” he said.

He said the project was based on Executive Orders 003 and 005 of 2017 and 2018.

He also pointed to the referenced PS-PEAO/2025/008/4, from the Political and Economic Affairs Office of the OSGF, in support of the project’s institutional status.

The correspondence approved a five-member technical committee to oversee the project’s development objectives, monitoring framework and public-private implementation structures, according to him.

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The aforementioned platform tried to get ICPC’s reaction on the new allegations, but failed.

Similarly, the SGF spokesman Christopher Ugwuegbulam turned down an invitation to respond to the allegations without a formal request.

“If you want to know my reaction on the allegations, write to us,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Presidency on Friday, said the ICPC had yet to conclude its investigation into how fictitious government agencies operated undetected within the SGF office.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, has appealed to Nigerians to exercise patience and wait for the final recommendations of the commission before taking a decision on culpability.

He said President Tinubu expects the ICPC to take the investigation to its logical conclusion and report back to him.

“The ICPC has not completed their work. At the end of their investigation, they are supposed to make recommendations to the President and he is expecting them to do so.

They have submitted their preliminary report, they are continuing with their work and the President has asked them to make recommendations on how to strengthen the system where weaknesses have been spotted.

“The ICPC has said they have found weaknesses in the system so let’s wait for them to do their job.”