The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has taken Timber Kesiye Wabote, the former Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), into custody in connection with an alleged $35 million fraud related to the Brass Project.
This project was a failed initiative aimed at establishing a refinery and several infrastructure facilities in the Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
Naija News reports that the alleged fraud involves the misuse of $35 million allocated for the development of the Brass Energy Infrastructure Park project, an undertaking that sought to boost local content and energy infrastructure in the Okpoama Community.
Wabote’s arrest follows the EFCC’s detention of Akintoye Adeoye Akindele, Managing Director of Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited, who is alleged to have misappropriated and laundered the funds in question.
Details of the Brass Project and Funding Allegations
The EFCC’s investigation revealed that Akindele, the main initiator of the Brass Energy Infrastructure Park, secured substantial financing from the NCDMB to advance the project. The NCDMB, which adopted the project under its mandate to promote local content and energy infrastructure, reportedly provided counterpart funding of $35 million.
According to The Nation, the funds were intended to construct a 2,000 barrel per day (BPD) refinery, along with supporting facilities including a jetty, gas plant, power plant, data center, and tank farm at the Brass Free Trade Zone (FTZ) in Okpoama Community.
Wabote, who served as Executive Secretary of the NCDMB from 2016 to 2023, was responsible for overseeing the board’s involvement in the Brass project and related initiatives. Under his leadership, the NCDMB reportedly invested in 17 different projects as part of its local content development efforts. However, preliminary findings indicate that since December 2020, when substantial payments were made to Akindele’s company for the Brass project, there has been minimal progress despite the allocated funds.
Alleged Fraud and Misuse of Public Funds
The EFCC’s ongoing investigation suggests that Akindele may have abandoned the project after receiving the funds, leading to suspicions of fraud, money laundering, and misappropriation. Initial investigative reports detail that the $35 million was allocated with the intent of building vital energy infrastructure to support local industry in Bayelsa State. However, the project stalled, with indications that funds may have been diverted for unauthorized purposes.
Sources at the EFCC indicate that Wabote is currently being held at the Commission’s detention facility in Abuja, where he is expected to assist with the ongoing investigation. The EFCC is also reportedly examining records from the NCDMB under Wabote’s tenure to determine the circumstances under which the funds were allocated and the reasons for the lack of progress on the Brass Energy Infrastructure Park project.
Broader Implications of the Arrests and Investigation
The arrest of Wabote and Akindele underscores the EFCC’s commitment to tackling corruption and misappropriation of public funds, particularly within government agencies and large-scale projects. The EFCC has noted that such cases, where substantial funds are directed towards key infrastructure projects but remain unaccounted for, jeopardize not only the credibility of the involved institutions but also the prospects for genuine development in local communities.
As investigations continue, stakeholders in the Nigerian oil and gas sector, as well as in Bayelsa State, are closely monitoring the outcome, as the case could have wider implications for the administration and accountability of government funds allocated to local content and energy projects. The EFCC is expected to release additional findings as its investigation progresses.
