A former Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Simbi Wabote, says all the 17 strategic investments undertaken by the board of the agency under his leadership are very successful and progressing except one, contrary to what he described as the deliberate disinformation being fed to the public by some persons he described as disgruntled.
Engr. Wabote, who spoke to THEWILL on Wednesday morning, dismissed reports of his purported arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), saying he honoured the anti-graft agency’s invitation on its investigation into the $35 million equity contribution of the NCDMB into the Energy Infrastructure Park project promoted by Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited, whose CEO, Mr Akintoye Adeoye Akindele, is also behind the completed and ready to commission Duport Midstream refinery project in Edo State, where NCDMB is also invested. The Atlantic International Refinery project, which is located in Okpoama Community in Brass LGA of Bayelsa state, is currently stalled because of funding issues on Akindele’s part.
Speaking again on Wednesday afternoon, Wabote, who led the NCDMB between 2016 and 2023, dismissed claims of any misappropriation of funds during his term at the NCDMB.
THEWILL checks revealed that 16 of the 17 projects of the board under his leadership as Executive Secretary are running efficiently with some awaiting official commissioning except the Atlantic International refinery project which currently has financial issues. NCDMB owns 40% of the business. Despite successfully fabricating and completing the refinery in Dubai, Atlantic’s plan to ship it to Bayelsa and complete the project had been hampered by issues between Akindele and his partners in the Duport Midstream refinery, where he had hoped to raise cash from their daily turnover to fund his financial obligation in the project. Akindele and his partners in Dupont are currently in court over their dispute, THEWILL can report.
Though further checks showed that the site for the refinery project including the staff facility, is ready, Atlantic International has been unable to raise more funds to pay off about $700,000 balance owed by the Dubai-based fabricator to facilitate the shipment of the refinery to the site. THEWILL checks also showed that NCDMB and Atlantic International are in talks on the best way to move the project forward.
Wabote, who spoke glowingly of his achievements at the helm of affairs at the agency, declined to comment on our findings on the Atlantic International refinery project because it is now a subject of investigation.
The NCDMB under me got involved in 17 different investments ranging from gas projects to refineries. Out of this 17,16 are progressing and some have been completed. An example is the Watersmith Refinery which made a profit after tax of N23bn in 2023. 30% of this belongs to the NCDMB as a dividend. The refinery is also expanding from 5,000 to 10,000bpd. Hopefully, it will be commissioned by the first quarter of 2025”, he said.
Wabote insists that the NCDMB investments in the business ventures under his tenure are very lucrative and would yield great returns for the agency and the country. “We designed all the projects we invested in, in a way that allows us to cash out in 5 years because our role at the NCDMB is to catalyse these businesses”, he added.
Below are some of the partner projects of the NCDMB.
THE WILL