The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has apprehended Timber Kesiye Wabote, former Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), on allegations of misappropriating $35 million in public funds related to the abandoned Brass Project in Bayelsa State.
This development follows the prior detention of Akintoye Adeoye Akindele, Managing Director of Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited, who is facing charges of money laundering, misappropriation, and fund diversion. The probe involves a failed project intended to establish an Energy Infrastructure Park in the Okpoama Community, Brass Local Government Area, Bayelsa State. The planned facilities included a refinery, jetty, gas plant, power plant, data center, and tank farm, with an expected capacity to process 2,000 barrels of oil daily. Under Wabote’s tenure, the NCDMB had reportedly committed $35 million in counterpart funding to this project.
Despite substantial funding, the project was abandoned in December 2020 with minimal development. Investigations revealed that Akindele received the $35 million from NCDMB to execute the refinery and associated infrastructure, but the funds appear to have been misappropriated, with little tangible progress on the ground. Preliminary reports indicate that during his term as Executive Secretary from 2016 to 2023, Wabote was involved in multiple similar investments, including the Brass Free Trade Zone initiative. His recent arrest is linked to the alleged mismanagement of funds earmarked for the Brass Project refinery.
Wabote is currently held at EFCC’s Abuja office, as the investigation proceeds and other individuals involved are scrutinized.
EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale confirmed Wabote’s detention on Wednesday, though he withheld further details.
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