‘Allegations against Wabote baseless and mere diversionary tactics,’ says NOGIOA

Leading industry professionals’ group in the Oil & Gas sector has described allegations against the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development & Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Simbi Wabote as ‘diversionary and baseless.’

The group, the Nigerian Oil and Gas Indigenous Operators Association (NOGIOA) through its Chairman, Galadima Auwal, noted that this kind of diversionary tact are the trademark of some disingenuous persons within the online media space and therefore should be disregarded. It noted that the allegation being peddled by a faceless group called, the New Nigeria Global Initiative (NNGI) purported to be a coalition of civil society group is nothing short of blackmail and intent to intimidate and extort.

NNGI had claimed that it has evidence of allegation of fraud, violation of United States Banking Rules and Regulation, Racketeering, Financial Misappropriation and Acts of Treachery Bordering on Treason, amidst so many other false and ridiculous claims published by some infamous online news platforms and which is aimed at tarnishing the image of the Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Engr. Wabote. 

In a statement released in Abuja, NOGIOA noted that the allegations against Engr. Wabote are malicious, baseless and a deliberate ploy to divert the attention of the Executive Secretary from the goal of delivering a sound and solid local content framework for Nigeria which is the primary purpose of the NCDMB and for which the Federal Government, under the leadership of President Mohammed Buhari, is firmly committed.

The statement noted that these kinds of allegations of fraud which will never be proved are not new, saying that often faceless organizations, individuals and groups, such as the NNGI said to be represented by one Ahmed Yusuf, come forward to seek for ways to blackmail and extort public officers using such veiled and baseless allegations of fraud, allegations which can never be substantiated and which are only intended to put public officers in black light before the public. The statement challenged the group to tender the said evidence or claims before security agencies both in Nigeria and the United States and be willing to appear as witnesses.

The statement observed that “a lot of key players in the Oil and Gas Industry have commended the efforts the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board NCDMB under the capable leadership of Wabote”

It noted that the said Jackson Ude who is behind these allegations and a publisher of Point-blank News is a known blackmailer with no proper sense of professionalism while urging Wabote not to be distracted by the  professional blackmailer who is a Nigerian bent on abusing the privileges of the United States. It also urged that the United States FBI should investigate Jackson Ude on how he makes his money.

The statement went further to highlight the sterling achievements of the NCDMB under the leadership of Wabote as Executive Secretary. It stated that with an outstanding vision to transform the local content architecture of Nigeria, the Executive Secretary has been able to midwife new innovations which have brought tremendous progress to the Oil & Gas industry.

“Engr. Wabote brought his project management skills into the construction of the Board’s new headquarters building complex, leading to the completion of a 17-story office building, 1,000 seating auditorium, and multi-level car park. He also pioneered the development and oversaw the deployment of Service Level Agreements (SLA) between the Board and the Nigeria LNG, Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS) and Indigenous Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG), which has reduced the tendering cycle time to six months and fast tracks development of new projects. Under his watch, NCDMB catalyzed the successful integration of one of the largest Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) in-country at the SHI-MCI yard in the LADOL Free Trade Zone and facilitated in-country integration of six modules on the Egina FPSO, the first time in the entire Gulf of Guinea.

“Engr. Wabote also introduced key signature events into the Oil & Gas industry calendar such as the bi-annual Nigerian Oil & Gas Opportunity Fair (NOGOF) and the Nigerian Research and Development Fair (R&D Fair), to showcase the oil industry’s opportunities for investment and galvanize research capabilities respectively. He has also used the annual Practical Nigeria Content Conference and Exhibition to set the agenda for the industry going forward. In energizing Local Refining, Engr. Wabote championed NCDMB’s equity investment in Waltersmith’s modular refinery and Azikel Modular refinery and other strategic capacity development initiatives in the hydrocarbon value-chain in line with the Board’s vision to catalyze the industrialization of the Nigerian oil and gas sector.

“It is worthy of note that what these very audacious achievements point to is the fact that Engr. Wabote has been able to transform the Nigeria Oil & Gas industry through robust initiatives with NCDMB as the Local Content only agency of repute and results to show. It is of note that through the various initiatives in Nigeria under the leadership of the Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, many other African Oil Producing countries are following the local content program as enshrined in the Act 2010.

“These initiatives have helped to encourage Nigerian-owned Oil & Gas Companies while also encouraging local refining. Through his effort as the Executive Secretary, Engr. Wabote has ensured that Nigeria gained a lot from the local content through the drastic reduction in foreign labor and capital flights,” the statement noted.

Continuing, the group provided a graphic illustration from the record of proceedings, as it gave highlights of what has transpired in the lawsuit thus far:

(1) In an October 21, 2021, Opinion and Order made by the Honorable Judge Joseph F. Leeson Jr., United States District Court Judge, after evaluating Ude’s Motion to dismiss Mr. Wabote’s defamation claim, the Court ruled and dismissed Ude’s Motion in its entirety, stating that:

(a) Defendant Ude’s request to dismiss the case against him is denied;

(b) Defendant Ude’s request to send the case to Nigeria is denied; but

(c) Ruled that Mr. Wabote has adequately alleged wrongdoing by Defendant Ude and directed Ude to answer to the allegation of wrongdoing put forward against him; and 

(d) Dismissed all of Ude’s counterclaims against Wabote because they lacked merit.

(2) In a November 24, 2021 Order by the same Court, Honorable Judge Joseph F. Leeson Jr., again held the following:

(a) Overruled Defendant Ude’s objections to discovery and ordered Defendant Ude to answer Mr. Wabote’s rightful questions and requests for documents;

(b) ruled in favor of Wabote and ordered that any personal banking records of Mr. Wabote be treated as confidential in the case and not shared outside of the litigation; and

(c) Ordered that if Defendant Ude fails to comply with his obligations he will be subject to contempt proceedings.

(3) In a December 1, 2021, Order by the same Honorable Judge Joseph F. Leeson Jr., the Court again overruled Defendant Ude’s attempt to hold in-person depositions in the US and ruled in favor of Mr. Wabote doing his deposition by remote video conference from Nigeria.

According to NOGIOA: “It is hard to see the basis for the recent online publication by Ude and his cronies, gloating about ‘table turning against Mr. Wabote’ when in fact it is Ude that has consistently lost all the motions he brought to frustrate the claim against him.”