By Frontline Reporters

What began as an internal bureaucratic dispute within the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation has exploded into a major controversy, with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission branding a project office operating within the OSGF as a “fake” government agency and President Bola Tinubu reportedly ordering the arrest of its promoter.

But findings by Frontline Reporters suggest that the story may be more complicated than the headline.

Multiple officials familiar with the matter alleged that the ICPC’s action followed a bitter disagreement between George Nwabueze, promoter of the National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office, and some directors within the OSGF.

The officials claimed that the directors subsequently petitioned the ICPC against Nwabueze, alleging that he was operating an unauthorised government agency.

Nwabueze, however, has vehemently rejected the allegation, insisting that the body is not a government agency but a project office operating under the OSGF as an approved public-private special initiative.

The conflicting claims have now raised a fundamental question: Was a fake agency actually uncovered, or did an internal power struggle trigger an investigation that spiralled beyond its original purpose?

‘ICPC was misled’

One senior official familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to discuss the controversy, told Frontline Reporters that the project office should not have been classified as an agency.

“It is not a fake agency. It is a project office. The ICPC was misled into believing it is a fake agency by some directors,” the official alleged.

According to another source, tensions between Nwabueze and some directors over administrative issues eventually resulted in a petition to the anti-graft commission.

“There was a disagreement between him (Nwabueze) and some directors over some issues, which prompted the directors to petition the ICPC, alleging that someone was running a fake office,” the source said.

The source questioned the commission’s conclusion, arguing that a project office should not automatically be equated with a statutory government agency.

“Instead of the ICPC doing due diligence, they saw it as an opportunity to declare that they had discovered another fake agency. That is far from it. It is a project office, not an agency. It can wind down anytime,” the official alleged.

Another source raised an even more pointed question: if the office had allegedly operated within the OSGF for years, why was its status only now being questioned?

“How does a project office become an agency, and why has it been operating since 2010 in that office?” the source asked.

He alleged that the ICPC was given information by individuals within the SGF office who had unresolved grievances against Nwabueze.

The arrest that has not happened

The controversy took another dramatic turn on August 21 when the ICPC announced that it had uncovered what it described as another fake federal agency allegedly operating within the OSGF.

Following a briefing by ICPC Chairman, Dr Musa Aliyu, SAN, President Tinubu was said to have ordered Nwabueze’s arrest and the immediate suspension of three permanent secretaries in connection with the alleged fake agency.

The officials named were MS Danjuma, Nandungu Gagare and Richard Pheelangwa.

But questions emerged when Nwabueze was reportedly not taken into custody.

A highly placed ICPC source told Frontline Reporters that, eight days after the presidential directive was announced, no arrest had been made and Nwabueze was not in the commission’s custody.

“That’s all I can tell you,” the source said.

The development has added another layer of mystery to a case that has already generated intense attention within government circles.

Nwabueze fights back

Rather than remain silent, Nwabueze has launched a counter-offensive, accusing some serving and retired officials of the OSGF of attempting to frustrate the project through what he described as administrative sabotage and suppression of official files.

In a statement issued through the Directorate of Legal Affairs and Strategic Communications and obtained by Frontline Reporters, Nwabueze insisted that the project was an approved public-private special initiative operating under the OSGF.

He said he petitioned the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on May 15, 2026, alleging that strategic project files were being withheld.

Among the documents he cited were files relating to Nigeria’s advance delegation to the Asia-Africa Summit 2026 and sub-national energy programmes.

The dispute subsequently moved into the courtroom.

Nwabueze disclosed that he instituted Suit No. CV/2634/26 before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, over alleged threats of administrative eviction and suppression of project files.

He maintained that the legal action was intended to prevent attempts to remove the project from the OSGF without following due administrative procedures.

“The entire subject matter remains subjudice before a court of competent jurisdiction,” he said.

The documents at the centre of the dispute

Nwabueze also cited Executive Orders 003 and 005 of 2017 and 2018, respectively, as the foundation upon which the project was anchored.

More significantly, he referred to official supervisory correspondence from the Political and Economic Affairs Office of the OSGF, referenced PS-PEAO/2025/008/4.

According to Nwabueze, the correspondence recognised the project and approved a five-member technical committee to oversee its development objectives, monitoring framework and public-private implementation structures.

If verified, such documentation could become crucial to determining whether the body was operating as an unauthorised agency, as alleged by the ICPC, or as a project office under an existing government structure, as Nwabueze contends.

A second ‘fake agency’ investigation

The ICPC’s action against Nwabueze emerged from a wider investigation into alleged fictitious government entities operating within the OSGF.

The commission said its discovery followed its investigation into the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, reportedly promoted by Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew.

After briefing President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa on August 21, Aliyu announced the alleged discovery of another fake federal agency within the OSGF.

The ICPC chairman said the President had ordered Nwabueze’s arrest and the suspension of three permanent secretaries.

The commission has yet to publicly provide all the evidence underpinning its classification of Nwabueze’s project office as a fake agency.

Presidency urges Nigerians to wait

Amid the escalating controversy, the Presidency has cautioned against rushing to judgment.

President Tinubu’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, said the ICPC investigation was still ongoing and that the commission had only submitted a preliminary report.

“The ICPC has not finished their work. At the end of their investigation, they are supposed to make recommendations to the President and he is expecting them to,” Ajayi said.

According to him, the President had directed the commission to investigate the matter fully and recommend measures to strengthen government systems where weaknesses had been identified.

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

House refuses to jump into the fray

The House of Representatives has also indicated that it will not launch a parallel investigation into the project office while the ICPC probe is underway.

Deputy House spokesman, Philip Agbese, said lawmakers would allow the anti-graft commission to complete its assignment.

“The matter is not before the House. If the ICPC is already investigating it, I think Nigerians should allow the commission to do its work,” Agbese said.

He explained that the House’s current investigation concerns the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, which is being handled by an ad hoc committee.

The unanswered questions

At the heart of the controversy are questions that the ongoing investigation must ultimately resolve:

Who authorised the project office?

What is its precise legal and administrative status within the OSGF?

Why was it allowed to operate for years if it was unauthorised?

Did an internal dispute between Nwabueze and OSGF officials trigger the petition to the ICPC?

Were the commission’s investigators given the full documentary history of the project before it was labelled a fake agency?

And perhaps most importantly:

Was the ICPC uncovering a fictitious government institution — or was an internal bureaucratic battle transformed into a national anti-corruption scandal?

For now, the answers remain buried in official files, petitions, correspondence and the ICPC’s ongoing investigation.

Until the commission submits its final report, the competing narratives remain sharply divided: the ICPC says “fake agency”; Nwabueze says “approved project office”; officials within the OSGF allege an internal power struggle; and the Presidency says Nigerians should wait for the evidence