At various points in 2025, state governments received letters requesting the nomination of coordinators for the National Brands Development and Made in Nigeria Special Project Office.
On Friday, President Bola Tinubu ordered the arrest of
Nwabueze Buchi George, who was said to be the executive director/national
coordinator of the “fictitious” agency.
Following an investigation by the Independent Corrupt
Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the agency was found to
be unrecognised despite operating under the office of the secretary to the
government of the federation (OSGF).
TheCable reports that findings revealed that the Made in Nigeria Project Office sent letters to at least 15 state governments and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The letters were titled: “REQUEST FOR NOMINATION AND
APPOINTMENT OF A STATE COORDINATOR FOR THE MADE IN NIGERIA PROJECT OFFICE.”
TheCable quoting a source familiar with the situation, disclosed that some
state governments initially took no action on the request to nominate state
coordinators.
After receiving no response, the agency sent multiple
reminder letters to the state governments.
It is understood that as of January 2026, some state
governments had received three separate letters signed by George, requesting
that they send the names of their nominees.
In one of the letters, the agency said the
appointment of state coordinators is “critical to strengthening collaboration
between the Federal Project Office and State Government in promoting local
production”.
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| the third reminder letter |
“I am directed to respectfully write as a Third Reminder to
Your Excellency on our earlier correspondences requesting the nomination and
appointment of a State Coordinator to represent the state in the Made in
Nigeria Project Office,” the letter signed by George reads.
“The appointment of State Coordinators is critical to
strengthening collaboration between the Federal Project Office and State
Government in promoting local production, empowering SMIEs, advancing
industrial growth, and ensuring active State participation in National and
International Trade and Investment Engagements.
“We kindly seek Your Excellency’s prompt consideration by
forwarding the details of a suitable nominee to enable formal confirmation and
the issuance of an appointment letter from our office.”
STATE GOVERNMENTS FINALLY RESPOND
Another source privy to the agency’s activities said that
most state governments eventually nominated aides or members of their executive
council.
The state governments were under
the assumption that the Made in Nigeria Project Office was genuine, given that
some OSGF officials were seen to be involved.
“When you analyse what ICPC reported, they stated that there
was collusion between the leadership of the project and some permanent
secretaries within OSGF,” a source said.
“So if there is collusion with permanent secretaries within
OSGF, it is easy to present the project as a genuine project.
“They deceived states into nominating state coordinators.”
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| the Kaduna Govt acknowledged the letter in October 2025 |
 |
| the Anambra Govt's acknowledgement letter was dated February 2026 |
A review of the Made in Nigeria Project Office’s website
shows the portraits of 20 state coordinators.
The states are Kogi, Bauchi, Oyo, Taraba, Kano, Ondo, Benue,
Nasarawa, Plateau, Kaduna, Katsina, Niger, Zamfara, Abia, Sokoto, Ogun,
Anambra, Osun, Kebbi, and Delta. (The website is archived here).
An insider said that not all the pictures of nominated state
coordinators were published on the agency’s website.
 |
| some of the state coordinators |
TheCable also reports that nominated state coordinators were
added to a WhatsApp group, where information was regularly disseminated.
In November 2025, after one of the state coordinators was
added to the group, a message was sent asking them to send their photographs.
“All state coordinators to send their portrait photographs
for profiling, calendar and on our official website,” the message reads.
In May 2026, the inauguration of the state coordinators took
place in Nasarawa state.
During the inauguration, 28 state coordinators took the oath
of office.
Abdullahi Sule, governor of Nasarawa, attended the
inauguration ceremony and was decorated by George as a grand patron of the Made
in Nigeria Project Office.
Orduen Andrew Okon, the state coordinator for Benue state,
posted pictures of the inauguration ceremony on Facebook.
Orduen Ikon(second from right), state coordinator for Benue, and his team paid Buchi a visit in February 2026.
ANAMBRA GOVERNMENT REACTS
Chiamaka Nnake, secretary to Anambra government, is the
state coordinator of the agency.
In a statement on Saturday, Nnake said Chukwuma Soludo,
governor of Anambra, nominated her for the role after receiving a letter signed
by George.
“Following the nominations, Focal Persons from the 36 states
have been in a WhatsApp group engaging on issues relating to the activities of
the office,” she said.
“More recently, the same office wrote to the State
requesting that Anambra host the South East Made-in-Nigeria Fair.
“The request was approved, and an inaugural meeting was held
about two weeks ago, with the National Coordinator in attendance.
“Since then, the State Committee has been working on
preparations for the Fair, which is scheduled to take place from 2nd – 5th
December 2026.”
Nnake said she has no knowledge of — or any connection to —
the activities of the agency beyond its official engagements.
WHO IS NWABUEZE BUCHI?
On his LinkedIn page, Buchi described himself as the founder
and president of the Globe Chamber of Commerce and Industry as well as the
Globe Economic and Trade Development Council.
He was also said to “direct corporate initiatives” as the
chairman/CEO of FOWCOM Limited, “specialising in construction and real estate
asset management”.
Buchi said he obtained a law degree from Godfrey Okoye
University and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the National Open University of
Nigeria, as well as an advanced professional legal practice training at Arden
University.
He described himself as a former United Nations Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) ambassador and alleged that he received a UN Medal of
Honour for his “activism through the Global Family Funds on Education, which
funds schooling for underprivileged children”.
Buchi also described himself as a published author on family
and social reforms, “including Failed Fathers and The Strong Woman Still
Struggles”.
On his work in the now-controversial Made in Nigeria Project
Office, he said his mandate focuses on “standardising local products and
boosting Made-in-Nigeria brands globally”.
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