The National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office, which the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) identified as an allegedly unauthorised government outfit, held a National Products Fair in Umuahia, Abia State.
The agency’s website featured photographs indicating that the fair took place at the International Conference Centre, Umuahia, from September 21 to 25, 2026.
Information obtained from the website on Monday showed that the event, tagged National Products Fair, 2026, was organised to showcase Nigerian innovation, quality, creativity and enterprise.
The banner displayed at the event listed promoting Nigerian products, supporting local industries and creating market opportunities among its objectives.
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The development raises fresh questions about the activities of the project office, which has come under scrutiny following the ICPC’s allegations that it operated as a fictitious government office without the necessary presidential authorisation.
Daily Trust had reported that the ICPC was investigating the organisation after its chairman, Musa Aliyu, disclosed that President Bola Tinubu had ordered the immediate arrest of the project’s promoter, George Buchi Nwabueze.
The President also ordered the suspension of three permanent secretaries following the discovery of the purported office within the premises of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF).
The commission alleged that the office had been allocated space within the OSGF complex without presidential authorisation.
The latest photographs indicate that the organisation continued to publicise and conduct activities under the Made-in-Nigeria banner despite the controversy surrounding its official status.
However, the photographs and event banner do not, by themselves, establish whether the fair received official approval from the Federal Government or the Abia State Government, or whether public funds were used to organise it.
Nwabueze and the project’s management have rejected descriptions of the organisation as a phantom or unauthorised government agency, insisting that it operates as a public-private initiative rather than a statutory government institution.
In a statement published on its website, the management said the Made-in-Nigeria Project was anchored on Executive Orders 003 of 2017 and 005 of 2018, which it said supported efforts to promote locally manufactured products and stimulate domestic production.
It also cited official correspondence within the OSGF, including a memorandum with reference number PS-PEAO/2025/008/4, as evidence of its institutional relationship with the government.
The management further said Nwabueze had approached the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, to challenge what it described as attempts to remove the project from the OSGF framework.
It cited Suit No. CV/2634/26 and said the court had directed the parties to maintain the status quo pending the determination of the substantive case.
The management maintained that reports describing the organisation as a fake agency misrepresented its legal and institutional status.
Before the controversy, the organisation presented itself as a nationwide initiative with state coordinators, zonal directors and representatives in the United States and China.
Its activities included trade exhibitions, economic forums, investment promotion programmes and events intended to showcase Nigerian products to international markets.
It also associated itself with prominent public officials through its events and publicity materials.
Available reports indicated that the organisation held an engagement in Lafia, Nasarawa State, in May 2026, where Governor Abdullahi Sule was listed as attending the opening session of the project’s activities. The governor was also decorated as a grand patron of the initiative.
The organisation also publicised engagements involving other public officials and state-level coordinators.
The National Products Fair adds to the organisation’s record of public-facing activities at a time when its official status is under scrutiny.
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