EFCC Detains Former NCDMB Chief Wabote, Businessman Akindele in $35 Million Bayelsa Refinery Fraud Probe

Timber Kesiye Wabote, former Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), and Akintoye Akindele, Managing Director of Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited, are under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over a $35 million fraud tied to the Atlantic Refinery Project in Bayelsa State.

The NCDMB had provided $35 million in counterpart funding for a 2,000-barrel-per-day modular refinery, jetty, gas plant, power plant, data center, and tank farm at the Brass Free Trade Zone, Okpoama community, Bayelsa.

The project, intended to be completed within 24 months, has reportedly shown minimal progress since Akindele received funds in December 2020, leading to allegations of project abandonment and fund misappropriation.

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Investigations have revealed that Akindele allegedly funneled funds from Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited to four other companies linked to him, including Platform Capital Investment Partners and Duport Midstream Company Ltd.

The probe, initiated after a petition by former House of Representatives member Israel Sunny-Goli, has brought scrutiny to other multi-million-dollar investments by NCDMB.