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The Minister of State for Petroleum Sources, Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, and the previous Govt Secretary of the Nigerian Content material Growth Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Simbi Wabote, have disagreed over $500 million investments made through the latter’s tenure.
In a press release issued by Lokpobiri on Tuesday via his media aide, Nnaemeka Okafor, the Minister stated that NCDMB below the management of Wabote “wasted” over $500 million of the trade’s fund on fairness investments, non-public institutions, and non-performing loans.
The Minister had earlier alleged that Wabote paid $35 million for the Brass modular refinery in Bayelsa State with out something to indicate for it.
He had additionally alleged that $20 million was paid for a fertilizer manufacturing facility that was but to materialize.
He had claimed that roughly $350 million was transferred to the Financial institution of Trade by the board to offer loans to buyers, asserting that the funds have been mismanaged with 90% of the loans non-performing.
Wabote fires again
On his half, the previous NCDMB boss, Simbi Wabote, had additionally allleged that Lokpobiri’s “reckless statements” previously months weren’t new to him.
He stated,
- “My downside because the Govt Secretary began with Lokpobiri in December 2023 when he despatched one in all his undocumented aides inside his ministry to my workplace in Yenagoa (Blackson) requesting me to extend the NCDMB price range by N30bn for the workplace of the Minister, and I stated it had by no means been completed earlier than.”
- Wabote stated that he knowledgeable the oil minister that in his tenure below two earlier ministers, none had ever demanded such actions from the NCDMB.
- He stated that the board solely allotted funds for the workplace of the Chairman of the Council, which included protection for his journey bills.
- “I stated to him that the utmost the NCDMB price range has ever received to previously is circa N80bn for all our actions, including N30bn might be an excessive amount of for his workplace and I used to be not going to do it,” he acknowledged.
Lokpobiri’s place
In Lokpobiri’s assertion on Tuesday, the Minister famous that investigations are ongoing and that each one funds belonging to the generality of Nigerians might be recovered.
In accordance with him, if Mr. Wabote has proof of price range padding accusations, he ought to present it to the general public.
- “Let me add that these revelations aren’t new, they have been first made throughout an investigative listening to of the Home of Representatives Committee on Native Content material. Once more, the data are there and you might be welcome to confirm these details.
- “The Minister has by no means been a part of any budgeting means of any parastatal below the ministry.
- ‘’Secondly, the minister has no aide referred to as Blackson. All his aides have been duly chosen in keeping with extant legal guidelines and have paperwork to that impact.
- “Thirdly, the stated Atlantic Refinery was purported to be in-built Mr Wabote’s residence city, he ought to present Nigerians the place that refinery is.
- ‘’Fourthly, the Brass Fertilizer and Petrochemical firm was additionally paid for.
- ’Lastly, the Minister’s workplace is run with a price range superintended by the everlasting secretary and so one will marvel, how the Minister will ask one other entity to make provisions for the price range of his workplace,” the assertion reads.
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