The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested Timber Wabote, former executive secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), over allegations linked to a failed $35 million Bayelsa refinery project.
EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale confirmed the arrest on Thursday.
Wabote faces accusations of misappropriating public funds intended to boost local energy production through a refinery project.
Reports from Vanguard reveal that the NCDMB, under Wabote’s leadership, allocated $35 million for energy infrastructure development in Brass Local Government Area, Bayelsa.
However, no progress has been seen on the ground.
Wabote’s arrest follows the EFCC’s detention of Akintoye Adeoye Akindele, Managing Director of Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited, for alleged misappropriation, money laundering, and diversion of the $35 million.
An EFCC insider disclosed, “The NCDMB, under Wabote’s watch, paid Akindele to build a 2,000-barrel-per-day (BPD) refinery, jetty, gas plant, power plant, data centre, and tank farm at Brass Free Trade Zone (FTZ) in Okpoama Community, Brass LGA of Bayelsa State.”
Despite payments dating back to December 2020, Akindele reportedly abandoned the project, leaving little to show for the enormous sum.
Preliminary EFCC investigations also reveal that Wabote’s NCDMB financed 17 projects, including the stalled Brass refinery.
In recent months, public outcry over misappropriated funds in Nigeria’s energy sector has intensified.
An FIJ investigation noted that the House of Representatives summoned three ministers over over $2 billion spent on renewable energy with limited results.
Another FIJ report highlighted how Yenagoa residents have suffered a power outage since July due to vandalized transmission towers, with Bayelsa authorities noting the lack of federal assistance.
