The Former Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Simbi Wabote, says he was not arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

There were reports on Wednesday that Wabote was arrested over NCDMB’s investments in a modular refinery conceptualised by Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited for Brass Island in Bayelsa State.

In a statement on Wednesday, Wabote denied that he was ever arrested by EFCC, insisting that he made a routine visit to the agency having been invited.

According to him, he honoured EFCC’s routine invitation on Tuesday, arrived at 2 pm and left by 6.30 pm, after writing his statement.

“I was supposed to go there on the 29th of October but I wrote to them to say that I would be travelling out of the country and I will come when I return. Yesterday, (Tuesday) I walked in and they took my statement and I came home and slept.”

Wabote explained that there was no fraud case involving Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited, saying it was rather a case of a company that was having cash flow challenges.

He debunked the allegation that NCDMB under his leadership made a bad investment in Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited.

“We invested in about 17 different opportunities and most of them are progressing, the only one that has a challenge is the Atlantic refinery. The promoter has not walked away from the project. He has written to the NCDMB, telling the board to give him a plan so he can buy them out. Even in the board meeting, they have taken a resolution.

“He said he has a cash flow challenge and he will complete the project, but if you are not prepared to come along with me, agree with me a plan so that I can buy you out. So it is just a business that has a challenge. It has nothing to do with fraud and nothing to do with scam,” he explained.

The PUNCH recalls that the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, had earlier accused Wabote of fund misappropriation and bad investment.

Lokpobiri had in April said the government was reviewing the loans and projects estimated at $500m executed by the NCDMB, accusing Wabote of wasting the funds on questionable projects and loans.

However, the former NCDMB boss said Lokpobiri’s “reckless statements” were not new to him.

He said, “My problem as the Executive Secretary 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 the NCDMB budget by N30bn for the office of the Minister and I said it had never been done before