General
$5m Bribe: NCDMB Rubbishes Allegation Against Wabote
By Ahmed Rahma
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has defended its Executive Secretary, Mr Simbi Wabote, saying that the $5 million bribery allegation against him is false.
A few days ago, one Mr Jackson Ude had accused Mr Wabote of receiving $5 million bribe from a German company to violate Nigeria’s local content laws on the Bonny Train 7 contract.
The journalist has said, “Simbi Wabote, the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board, a lackey of Timipre Sylva, actually collected $5 million bribe from Kelvion, German company to violate Nigeria’s local content laws on the Bonny Train 7 contract. Details plenty!”
But responding in a statement signed by General Manager of Corporate Communication/Zonal Coordination, NCDMB, Dr Ginah Ginah, the organisation described this allegation as baseless.
“Our attention has been drawn to a spurious and libellous online publication in Pointblank News of 10th February 2021, in which one Jackson Ude, purported that the Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Wabote, and the Minister of State for Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva received bribes to undermine the Nigerian content policy in the award of Train 7 EPC contract.
“The report epitomizes a futile attempt to soil the image of public officials who have worked hard to develop local content in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
“It is apparent that the writer does not even understand the role of NCDMB as enshrined in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act 2010.
“It could have been proper to ignore the fabricated news report, but we have a duty to provide the facts so that unsuspecting members of the public are not misled by blatant disinformation.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the NCDMB is a regulator and does not award contracts in the Nigerian oil and gas industry,” NCDMB explained in the statement.
Explaining further, it stated, “Our involvement in the award process is limited to evaluation of local content requirements in tenders, upon which NCDMB communicates to operators and/or project promoters the outcome of bidders’ compliance or otherwise with the provisions of the NOGICD Act.
“Due consideration and the decision to award a contract to any of the compliant bidders rest with the operator and their partners/ project promoters.
“The process of scaling through local content requirements in a project development is based on the provisions of the Nigerian Content Act and not on a subjective checklist that can be changed at the whims of any individual.”
It revealed that, “Circumventing the rules/requirements attracts stiff sanctions. Therefore, it would have been impossible for the Executive Secretary and the Minister or any other official for that matter to be induced to contravene the provisions of the law they are meant to enforce.
“It would have also been impossible for any official to dictate to the operators or project promoters on their choice of contractors without due regard for the commercial aspects and project economics.
“This fake news by Jackson Ude is a disingenuous attempt to diminish the hard work that engendered the Final Investment Decision (FID) for NLNG Train 7 project even at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic last year.
“The allegations are not only reckless but also calls to question the motive of Mr. Ude and his cohorts as the country strives to attract investors and create job opportunities for Nigerians.
“Just to call a spade a spade: the report by Jackson Ude is completely FALSE and makes no sense; it is mere FAKE news that satisfies only the author’s mischief and the selfish interests of his sponsors.
“It is on record that the outcome of the Train-7 Project tenders provided very significant financial savings for the NLNG and the country at large.
“We will therefore not succumb to any mudslinging or blackmail from Jackson Ude or his cohorts, including those business promoters who did not win the NLNG Train-7 contracts but have decided to vent their spleen through channels of disinformation such as the online Pointblank News
“Since creation in 2010, the NCDMB has worked to achieve quantum growth in the Nigerian oil and gas industry from less than 5% to over 35%.
“The in-country capacities and capabilities developed over the years are evident and we will not be distracted from our focus and plan to increase this to 70 percent by 2027 in line with our extant 10-year Strategic Roadmap.”
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The United States government gave some terrorists in Nigeria a Christmas gift that sent many of them to the great beyond.
On Thursday, December 25, 2025, the United States President, Mr Donald Trump, directed his country’s military to launch air strikes on camps of members of the dreaded Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Sokoto State.
According to Mr Trump, the military action, which he threatened to carry out a few weeks ago if the Nigerian government does not stop the killing of Christians in the country, occurred on Thursday night.
“Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!
“I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was.
“The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing.
“Under my leadership, our country will not allow radical islamic terrorism to prosper. May God bless our military, and Merry Christmas to all, including the dead terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues,” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
In a video on X, formerly known as Twitter, the Department of War of the United States posted the below video of the air strikes;
https://twitter.com/DeptofWar/status/2004351717131903272
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The presidency has reacted to speculations that Mr Femi Gbajabiamila has been removed as the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu.
It was alleged that Mr Gbajabiamila has been replaced with the President’s Principal Private Secretary, Mr Hakeem Muri-Okunola.
Mr Muri-Okunola went to Abuja to take up this role after leaving as the Head of Service of the Lagos State Civil Service.
Reacting to the reports on social media on the purported removal of Mr Gbajabiamila, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, the presidency said no such change has been made.
In a statement signed on Thursday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, members of the public were advised to disregard the report as “there is absolutely no truth to this story.”
“The Chief of Staff remains in his position. The Principal Private Secretary likewise remains in his role. Hakeem Muri-Okunola has not replaced Femi Gbajabiamila as Chief of Staff.
“The viral claim is a fabrication by mischievous purveyors of fake news whose sole aim is to create disharmony within the government.
“We reiterate that news media should always verify their information before publishing or sharing on social media,” the statement said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The new chief executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, has assumed office with a clear message to advance the country’s upstream oil and gas sector in line with the mandate of the commission as enshrined in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
According to a statement signed by Mr Eniola Akinkuotu, the Head of Media & Strategic Communications at the upstream regulator, the NUPRC boss made this assertation during her first town hall meeting with management and staff on Tuesday December 23, 2025.
She further disclosed plans to make the commission a business enabler and re-ignite investments in the upstream sector.
Recall that President Tinubu nominated Mrs Eyesan to take over the NUPRC after the abrupt resignation of her predecessor, Mr Gbenga Komolafe as well as his counterpart in the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr Farouk Ahmed.
In her new capacity, Mrs Eyesan also set a firm production ambition of growing Nigeria’s output and increasing gas production.
“The goal is that we must enable the industry, we are regulators. We must enable the industry from our interactions with the stakeholders, from our interactions with everybody.
“My main objective is to ensure that we make a difference. I believe the NUPRC is at the Center of the industry,” she said.
The commission boss who has served for over three decades in the oil and gas sector, promised to entrench digitisation, transparency and efficiency in operations.
The NUPRC head said with the support of staff and management, the NUPRC will become the gold-standard regulator in Africa. She also promised capacity development, stronger technical depth and sustained engagement with stakeholders, unions and professional teams.
On leadership style, Mrs Eyesan promised an open-door policy and frequent staff engagement, while also soliciting for support and cooperation as the industry embarks on the next phase of transformation.
“If we work together we can unleash opportunities, I don’t see impediments only opportunities,” she added.
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