Minister, former NCDMB boss clash over $500 million  investments, budget padding

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, and the former Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Simbi Wabote, have disagreed over $500 million investments made during the latter’s tenure.

In a statement issued by Lokpobiri on Tuesday through his media aide, Nnaemeka Okafor, the Minister said that NCDMB under the leadership of  Wabote “wasted” over $500 million of the industry’s fund on equity investments, private establishments, and non-performing loans.

The Minister had earlier alleged that Wabote paid $35 million for the Brass modular refinery in Bayelsa State without anything to show for it.

He had also alleged that $20 million was paid for a fertilizer factory that was yet to materialize.

He had claimed that approximately $350 million was transferred to the Bank of Industry by the board to provide loans to investors, asserting that the funds were mismanaged with 90% of the loans non-performing.

Recommended reading: President Tinubu Appoints Lokpobiri chairman of NCDMB, Others as Governing Council 

Wabote fires back

On his part, the former NCDMB boss, Simbi Wabote, had also allleged that Lokpobiri’s “reckless statements”  in the past months were not new to him.

He said,

• “My problem as the Executive Secretary started with Lokpobiri in December 2023 when he sent one of his undocumented aides within his ministry to my office in Yenagoa (Blackson) requesting me to increase the NCDMB budget by N30bn for the office of the Minister, and I said it had never been done before.”
• Wabote said that he informed the oil minister that during his tenure under two previous ministers, none had ever demanded such actions from the NCDMB.
• He said that the board solely allocated funds for the office of the Chairman of the Council, which included coverage for his travel expenses.
• “I said to him that the maximum the NCDMB budget has ever got to in the past is circa N80bn for all our activities, adding N30bn will be too much for his office and I was not going to do it,” he stated.

Lokpobiri’s position

In Lokpobiri’s statement on Tuesday, the Minister noted that investigations are ongoing and that all funds belonging to the generality of Nigerians will be recovered.

According to him, if Mr. Wabote has proof of budget padding accusations, he should provide it to the public.

• “Let me add that these revelations are not new, they were first made during an investigative hearing of the House of Representatives Committee on Local Content. Again, the records are there and you are welcome to verify these facts.
• “The Minister has never been part of any budgeting process of any parastatal under the ministry.
• ‘’Secondly, the minister has no aide called Blackson. All his aides were duly selected in line with extant laws and have documents to that effect.
• “Thirdly, the said Atlantic Refinery was supposed to be built in Mr Wabote’s home town, he should show Nigerians where that refinery is.
• ‘’Fourthly, the Brass Fertilizer and Petrochemical company was also paid for.
• ’Finally, the Minister’s office is run with a budget superintended by the permanent secretary and so one will wonder, how the Minister will ask another entity to make provisions for the budget of his office,” the statement reads.