…as Former NCDMB ES accuses Minister of interference, politically motivated actions on NCDMB

The Minister of State For Petroleum Resources (Oil), Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri and the former Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote are at loggerheads over the utilisation of the Nigerian Content Fund.

Speaking recently at a dinner organised by the Petroleum Club in Lagos, Lokpobiri advised the NCDMB against wasting over $500 million of the fund on unprofitable ventures.

Responding to the Minister in a statement, Wabote accused the Lokpobiri of peddling false narratives against himself and the agency following his failure to trample on the agency.

Wabote accused the Minister of making a demand of N30 billion for his position as Chairman of the NCDMB board.

Narrating his ordeal, the former NCDMB ES said, “My problem as ES 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 NCDMB budget by N30 billion for the Office of the Minister and I said it had never been done before. I served two Ministers and none of them have ever made such a request to NCDMB, that we only make provision for the office of the Chairman  of the council which covers his travel expenses.

“I said to him that the maximum NCDMB budget has ever gotten to in the past is circa N80 billion for all our activities, adding N30 billion will be too much for his office and I was not going to do it. I ask stakeholders to review the NCDMB budget from 2016 to 2023 and also look at what got approved in 2024.

“In August 2023, I had led the management of NCDMB to provide a full briefing of the Board’s activities to Mr. Lokpobiri and the Hon Minister of State for Petroleum – Gas (HMSPR-Gas) Hon Ekperikpe Ekpo. The presentation, in more than 250-page slides, provided information on the status of the Board’s projects, partnerships, interventions funds,  TSA account balances, HCD programs, Forensic Audits, and other strategic initiatives under the NCDMB 10-year Strategic Roadmap.

“The presentation was followed up with an invitation to the Honourable Ministers of State to embark on familiarisation visits to the Boards headquarters and other project sites located across the country.”

Wabote further accused Lokpobiri of being reckless and peddling bundles of lies.

“I wish to state that his reckless statements in the past months are not new to me. As only recently he tried to throw NNPC Ltd under the bus as he stated that Nigeria is losing 400bpd of oil because of not signing the Seplat deal thus trying to indict NNPC Ltd as a parastatal under his supervision. As a Minister and a representative of the substantive minister, are you not supposed to canvass government positions or represent your principal correctly? Rather he chooses to act like a militant activist.

The erstwhile ES noted that the Minister visited the following sites between September and November 2023:  Nigerian Content Tower – the Board’s headquarters in Yenagoa; NCDMB Fire Station in NCT; 204-room NCDMB Conference Hotel under construction; NCDMB Creche; NCDMB NOGAPS Industrial Park, Emeyal-1, near Otueke, Bayelsa State; Waltersmith Refinery, Ibigwe, Imo State; NCDMB Interventions within the PTDF Skills Center in Omagwa, PHC.

“Familiarisation visits to other sites were lined up before my unceremonious removal from office right after our flagship event, Practical Nigerian Content (PNC) Forum in December 2023.

“While I have moved on from the unsavory incident, I never knew that the HMSPR-Oil lacked any understanding of the brief I had given to him complete with necessary facts and figures or prefers to broadcast mischief to industry stakeholders.

“We had told Mr. Lokpobiri that our projects, interventions, and partnerships were driven by the enabling provisions contained in the NOGICD Act and extant government policies on modular refineries, Decade of Gas, jobs creation, and poverty eradication.

“It is therefore shocking that the HMSPR-Oil chose to present false narratives before the Petroleum Club in his foray into character assassination, treachery and ‘waste’ agenda.

“It is false for the HMSPR-Oil to assert that 90 percent of the NC Intervention Fund managed by BOI is not performing. He was fully briefed that it is because NCDMB is not a bank that made us partner with BOI as a foremost development bank in the country to manage the intervention fund for the oil and gas industry with each loan secured by Bank guarantee.

“As at Dec 2023, it is on record that the NC intervention funds managed by Bank of Industry (BoI) helped cushion the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the industry and that the fund has yielded millions from the low interest rates with the principal fully secured with Bank Guarantee (BG). The fund was intact when I left office as can be verified from BOI. If the fund is now being declared as ‘wasted,’ by the HMSPR-Oil, he should be asked what he has done, or intends to do with the fund, to make such a declaration. Industry watchers must not allow the secured funds to be diverted under any pretext.

“Our presentation and briefing notes to the HMSPR-Oil on Brass Fertiliser clearly informed him that the partnership arrangement with NNPC and DSV Engineering is for the establishment of 10,000TPD Methanol plant. It is therefore false that the partnership was for a ‘fertiliser factory.’

“Perhaps, Mr. Lokpobiri should have checked with the Hon Ekperikpe Ekpo, the Hon Min of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas) and NNPC Ltd for details of the project and the latest developments rather than the false accusations to castigate NCDMB.

“For the record, the initial investments by NNPC and NCDMB are pre-FID equity injection for the estimated $3.2billion project. The Board’s additional investment is tied to achievement of financial close which has not been achieved by the project promoters.

“The status of the fifteen (15) Board’s partnerships can be grouped into 5 categories as follows:

“(2) commissioned and operational (Waltersmith); Butane Energy (Katsina State) and expanding to 9  northern states;

“Five (4) ready for commissioning (NEDOGAS – operational and paid $1m ROI to  NCDMB), BetterGas, Bunorr, and Duport);

“Four (4) under construction (Azikel, Triansel, Eraskon, and LadolPower;

“Four (4) in search of debt financing (Brass Fertiliser (Methanol), Rungas Prime, Rungas Alfa, and SPL Utorogu).

“One (1) under divestment considerat (Atlantic Refinery).”

Wabote further challenged the Minister to visit the construction sites to avail himself of facts on ground.

“He should also check the MPR archives of the strategic plan to diversify oil and gas development clusters in the Niger Delta using Bonny Island, Brass Island,  Onne, Ogidigben, Ibom,  etc. Perhaps, this will cure his aversion to any developmental initiative in Brass Island and the Niger Delta in general,” Wabote said.

“The HMSPR-Oil should learn to separate the requirements of the office he currently occupies from his political ambition. He should look for another individual and agency of government to demonise in his quest to remain relevant. I am also aware that he is fighting a proxy war with his one time principal (former MSPR) and only using me as a decor.

“I strongly recommend that HMSPR-Oil channels his energy to position himself as the Guest of Honour and allow the Board to commission the following partnership projects as part of the first year anniversary of President Bola Tinubu.

“Nedo Gas Processing Plant complete with 300MMscf gas gathering hub in Kwale, Delta State, Better Gas 500MT LPG Storage and distribution infrastructure at Dikko near Abuja, 48,000 Litre per day Bunnor Base Oil Production at Omagwa, PHC, Butane LPG Plant Kaduna (2nd plant after the Katsina Plant commissioned in December 2021) and the Duport Modular Refinery, Egbokor (Legal squabbles permitting),” Wabote enumerated.

“Per the plan in place before my exit from office, another set would be ready for commissioning by the 2nd year anniversary of Mr. President if the HMSPR-Oil will allow the Board to function without all the lethargy of woes he has brought to NCDMB since December 2023,” Wabote concluded.

Reacting again, the Minister vowed to recoup alleged moribund investments worth over $500 million made by the Nigerian Content Monitoring and Development Board (NCDMB).

The Minister made this vow in defence of his allegation that the NCDMB wasted over $500 million of the industry’s fund in equity investments in private establishments and in loans that are now non-performing.

Reacting to Wabote’s statement, the Minister through his SA Media and Communication, Nneamaka Okafor, described Wabote’s claims as blatant lies from the pit of hell.

The Minister’s response read: “Our position is that he who alleges must prove same. So, if Mr. Wabote has proof of such conversation, he is challenged to provide same.”

“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.

“The Minister in his capacity as chairman of the Governing Council stands by his statement at The Petroleum Club’s quarterly event in Lagos, and as  journalists I welcome you to visit the places mentioned to verify the allegations for yourself.

“Thirdly, the said Atlantic Refinery was supposed to be built in Mr Wabote’s hometown, he should show Nigerians where that refinery is.

“Fourthly, the Brass Fertilizer and Petrochemical company was also paid for, you are welcomed to also visit the site to verify the facts for yourself.

“Let me add that these revelations are not new, they were first made during an investigative hearing of the House of representative 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, you are welcomed to visit these agencies to verify for yourself.

“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 Minister has an impeccable record from his time as Minister of Agric and will continue to stand for the truth.

‘’I have had course to read Mr Wabote’s release and everyone can see that he is still nursing the wounds of being replaced even after spending seven years at the Board. At best, this is a clear case of when you fight corruption, corruption will fight back,” the response read.

The Minister also disclosed that investigations are ongoing while making a vow to recover the resources expended.