Nigeria: How New 'Phantom' Agency Planned to Raise N50bn Before Crackdown

What the report says

Daily Trust, reporting from Abuja on 24 August 2026 and carried by AllAfrica, says an alleged fake body called the Made in Nigeria Project Office had drawn up an international expansion plan before federal authorities moved against it. The website materials reviewed by the paper said the group was preparing an “Industrialize Nigeria” campaign aimed at promoting Nigerian-made goods abroad and raising more than N50 billion for the economy.

According to the report, the proposed campaign would have included exhibitions, business forums, investment talks and trade events in Qatar, Kuwait, China, Hong Kong and Brazil. The office also claimed it would unveil a Made in Nigeria Warehouse and National Product Galleria in some of those locations, describing them as permanent platforms for local businesses to meet buyers and negotiate deals. The plan was presented as a way to boost production, attract investors and support exports.

The article says the organisation portrayed itself online as a government-backed initiative under the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, with a national coordinator and an extensive network of state and foreign representatives. However, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission later said President Bola Tinubu ordered the arrest of the promoter, George Nwabueze, and the suspension of three permanent secretaries after the alleged office was discovered. The ICPC said the body had no presidential authorisation and was one of several purported fictitious agencies under review. AllAfrica’s source material did not include a response from the organisation’s management.