By Emeka Okafor
A coalition of Niger Delta stakeholders have written to President Muhammadu Buhari to dismissed allegation of perjury leveled against the duo of Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva and the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development & Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr Simbi Wabote.
The group comprising of activists, a pro-APC group and ex-agitators described the allegations against the duo as fake and cooked up to discredit the great works Sylva and Wabote have been doing to reshape the nation’s oil and gas industry.
They fingered desperate politicians jostling political offices ahead of the 2023 general elections as the brains behind the attack on the two Bayelsa State born politicians.
In an open letter addressed to President Buhari on Friday, the coalition described the petition as cooked, doctored, fake, frivolous and laughable.
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The group stated that following its preliminary investigations into the purported petition and the perjury allegations level against Chief Timipre Sylva and Engr Simbi Wabote showed that the signatory are ghosts being used by some corrupt minded politicians against the sterling achievements recorded by Mr President in the nation oil and gas sector for the last six years.
According to them, their findings revealed that Chief Timipre Sylva was being used as a practicing target to get to President Muhammadu Buhari in his efforts to sanitise the nation’s oil and gas sector.
The coalition which also has as front members, Niger Delta APC Youth Vanguard and Ex Agitators under Niger Delta Advocate for Peace and Good Governance group, argued that the allegations against Chief Timipre Sylva and Engr Simbi Wabote were fake, false and should be discountenanced.
The open letter was signed by the coalition’s National Coordinator, Comrade Fiawei E Pathfinder; Deputy Coordinator, Comrade Bekes Apere; Secretary, Comrade AK Peters, Comrade Peres Ayama and Comrade Kingsley Tamaramienye
It stated that “those behind the purported petition are unaware that the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has gone beyond era of blackmail of officials of government and the use of a fake name of Ahmed Yusuf and non-existent group, will not push the sound policies of this present administration in the oil and gas sector into turmoil as planned by these devilish distractors.
“Today, we can categorically state here, without mincing words, that the clueless and false allegations was cooked and doctored by a group of criminal elements who are bereft of ideas and are not aware that it is no longer business as usual in the nation’s oil and gas Industry”, the letter read.
The group also condemned in strong term the desperate attempt to indict the Executive Secretary Nigerian Content, Development and Monitoring Board, Engr Simbi Wabote over alleged involvement in bribery allegations involving Saipem train 7 NLNG project.
According to the group, “The name Engr Simbi Wabote, the Executive Secretary Nigerian Content Development & Monitoring Board (NCDMB) is household name that is known for transparency, accountability and open-door policies with so much Achievements recorded so far since he took over the helms of affairs of NCDMB.
“He is not known to any corrupt practice and has nothing to hidden in his cupboard like other politicians from the region. And the financial books of the NCDMB is wide open for audit before the public domain at all times.
“And since Engr Simbi Wabote took over the NCDMB board as Executive Secretary there has been a lot of turnarounds of massive infrastructural developmental projects attributed to the region and have contributed a lot of reforms and policy implementation in the nation oil Industry. And never a day his name has been involved in fraudulent claims. He is a man known as Icon of Local Content development in Nigeria and African continent.
“Therefore, the group of ex-agitators warn those who are alleging and blackmailing the duo of Chief Timipre Sylva and the Engr Simbi Wabote to henceforth desist and hide their corrupt faces in shame. They should stay clear from alleging the two prominent sons from the Niger Delta region who are performing excellently well in their various offices.
“If we may ask, what is the fake group, New Nigeria Global Initiative looking for? They are looking for no other than stomach infrastructure through a fraudulent means with blackmail and come up with frivolous petitions in other to extort money by any means.
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Well, for the sake of the general public, the leadership of Niger Delta APC YOUTH VANGUARD, who are core believers of President Muhammad Buhari led federal government want to state that the so called petition is false fake and laughable and outrageous.”
“The so-called petition does not have any iota of evidence and cannot hold waters as the Honorable Minister of Petroleum Resources state chief Timipre Sylva and Engr Simbi Wabote are too busy with national assignments of importance to have time to engage in such baseless banter with paid petitioners and to be allowed to distract them from doing their job in the presidency.
“Those behind these false allegations and character assassination will be fished out and unveiled before the public. And they will be made to face the wrath of the law for defamation of character, false allegation and character assassination.
“At this juncture, the Niger Delta Stakeholders under the aegis of the Niger Delta APC Youth Vanguard with the coalition of ex agitators under Niger Delta Advocate for Peace and Good Governance group, want to use this opportunity to call on President Muhammadu Buhari, Ambassador to the United States of America here in Nigeria and the General public to disregard and ignore the so called paid false allegation emanating from a non-existent group, New Nigeria Global Initiative”, it further read.
