Former Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, has demanded answers over the alleged network built around the National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office.
Dalung said the controversy should now move beyond the alleged activities of the organisation’s promoter to questions about how the structure was able to operate and gain the appearance of official government backing.
He said the organisation reportedly had coordinators across about 20 states, as well as representatives in countries including China and the United States.
For Dalung, the reported network raises concerns about the level of access and recognition the organisation allegedly received within and outside government.
“How does something that allegedly does not have the required presidential authorisation develop this kind of structure?” he asked.
He questioned who appointed the coordinators, who communicated their appointments and who dealt with them as representatives of the organisation.
Dalung also asked who gave them access to government offices and who handled correspondence linked to the organisation.
The former minister argued that suspending officials or pursuing the alleged promoter would not by itself answer the wider questions surrounding the case.
“These actions may be necessary, but they should only be the beginning,” he said.
He called for investigators to trace the organisation’s activities and establish everyone who may have interacted with it or helped create the impression that it was an authorised government body.
Dalung also raised the possibility that other people or structures could exist within the government system.
“Who was running the real government while the fake one was operating?” he asked.
He urged authorities to follow the evidence wherever it leads and determine whether the controversy reflects a wider weakness in government oversight.
“If these allegations are established, this is no longer just a story about a ‘fake agency,’” Dalung said.
“It is a story about how easily the appearance of government authority can allegedly be created within the Nigerian state.”
The allegations have not been established as facts and require confirmation by the relevant authorities. Dalung’s comments are part of the growing calls for greater transparency over the alleged agency and its activities.