By Emmanuel Nduka
Immediate past Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) Engr. Simbi Wabote, has dismissed viral reports of his arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), as well as allegations of fraud tied to a $35 million Energy Infrastructure Park located in Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, Nigeria.
Speaking to newsmen on Wednesday, Engr. Wabote clarified that he merely honored the invitation of the anti-graft agency on Tuesday, as against false reports that he was being detained at the EFCC Headquarters in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja.
Heritage Times HT reports that Wabote reiterated that 16 out of 17 strategic investments undertaken by the Board under his leadership are very successful and progressing, contrary to what he described as the deliberate disinformation being fed to the public by some “disgruntled” elements.
Wabote explained that his invitation to the EFCC was in connection to investigation into NCDMB’s $35 million investments in a modular refinery conceptualized by Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited in Okpoama Community, Brass.
“I was supposed to go there on the 29th of October but I wrote to them to say that I would be travelling out of the country and I will come when I return. Yesterday, I walked in and they took my statement and I came home and slept,” Engr. Wabote clarified, adding that there was no fraud case involving Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited, but a case of a company that is having challenges of cash flow.
Atlantic Refinery’s CEO, Akintoye Akindele, is reported to have completed the Duport Midstream refinery project in Edo State which is due for commissioning, a facility in which the NCDMB also invested. Upon the successful fabrication and completion of the refinery in Dubai, Atlantic’s plan to ship it to Bayelsa and complete the project had been stalled by issues between Akindele and his partners, Heritage Times HT reports.
While checks showed that the site for the refinery project including the staff facility, is ready, Heritage Times HT reports that Atlantic International has been unable to raise more funds to pay off balance owed by the Dubai-based fabricator to facilitate the shipment of the refinery to the site. This is as the NCDMB and Atlantic International are in talks on the best way to move the project forward, Heritage Times HT confirmed.
“We invested in about 17 different opportunities and most of them are progressing, the only one that has a challenge is the Atlantic refinery. The promoter has not walked away from the project. He has written to the NCDMB, telling the Board to give him a plan so he can buy them out. Even in the Board meeting they have taken a resolution.
“He said he has a cash flow challenge and he will complete the project, but if you are not prepared to come along with me, agree with me a plan so that I can buy you out. So it is just a business that has a challenge. It has nothing to do with fraud and nothing to do with scam,” Wabote said, dismissing allegations that the NCDMB under his leadership made a bad investment in Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited.
Wabote, however, expressed disappointment that the media makes itself susceptible as a tool to fabricate falsehood to destroy a person’s reputation.
Heritage Times HT reports that Wabote’s case is not the first in the series of media trials by Nigeria’s anti-graft agencies, with most of the faceless personalities behind these false media wars not properly schooled on standard business processes, especially as it relates to cases they claim to be investigating.
Heritage Times HT recalls that one of Wabote’s first and most strategic actions as NCDMB boss was the development of the Nigerian Content 10-year Strategic Roadmap to provide a pathway for growing Nigerian Content to 70% by 2027. Laudably, in just a little above six years, Engr. Wabote was incredibly successful in delivering on the mandates of the NCDMB by initiating, regulating and catalysing numerous opportunities that engender value-adding activities in-country.
Standing out as the most encapsulating of Wabote’s achievements is growing Nigerian content capacity in the Oil and Gas industry from the 25% that he met in 2016 to 54% (as of 2022), setting the benchmark for attaining 70% Nigerian participation in 2027.
Wabote embarked on a noble mission to foster engagements and collaborations amongst countries and institutions in Africa, especially in infrastructure project development and the provision of funding. This was highlighted by the 2021 African Local Content Roundtable which created a structured engagement platform among African oil-producing countries on local content and sustainability in hydrocarbon development. It was followed by the African Local Content Investment Forum (ALCIF) 2022 which saw the NCDMB initiate strategic conversations with the African Petroleum Producers Organization (APPO), and Africa Export-Import Bank (AFREXIMBank) on the need to outline new and sustainable models of funding oil and gas investments in Africa.
The Africa Energy Bank initiative that is set to be headquartered in Abuja, Nigeria, is also one of Wabote’s success stories during his reign as NCDMB’s Executive Secretary.
