EFCC grills ex-NCDMB boss Wabote over alleged $35m fraud

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has detained Timber Kesiye Wabote, the former Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), over allegations of misappropriating $35 million in public funds.

The funds were tied to the abandoned Brass Project in Bayelsa State.

Wabote’s arrest follows the earlier apprehension of Akintoye Adeoye Akindele, Managing Director of Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited. Akindele faces charges including money laundering, fund misappropriation, and diversion of resources related to the same project.

The investigation centers on the failed initiative aimed at establishing an Energy Infrastructure Park in Okpoama Community, Brass Local Government Area. The proposed development was to feature a refinery, jetty, gas plant, power facility, data center, and a tank farm with a 2,000-barrel-per-day processing capacity.

Reports indicate that NCDMB, under Wabote’s leadership, committed $35 million in counterpart funding to the project. However, minimal progress was made, and the project was abandoned by December 2020, raising questions about the fund’s usage. Akindele was reportedly entrusted with overseeing the construction of the facilities but is accused of misappropriating the substantial sum.

Preliminary EFCC findings reveal that Wabote, who served as NCDMB’s Executive Secretary from 2016 to 2023, may have been involved in multiple investment mismanagements, including projects like the Brass Free Trade Zone. His current arrest specifically pertains to the mismanagement of the refinery project funds.

The EFCC is holding Wabote at its Abuja headquarters as the investigation broadens, with more individuals potentially implicated.

EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale confirmed the arrest but refrained from disclosing further details.