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- Redeployment of staff sparks controversy
From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
There is panic in the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) following a probe searchlight of its activities exposing a web of alleged corruption and misuse of authority.
Central to the probe is revelations of over $300 million disbursement of public funds to private companies under the disguise of asset acquisition loans and loan financing and several moribund equity financing and investments facilitated by top high-level officials within the Board.
Since its inauguration, the House Committee on Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring of the 10th National Assembly has initiated a formidable crackdown on these alleged corrupt practices in the oil and gas sector of the corruption that has long plagued it.
Findings from documents indicated that startling revelations have uncovered a series of concerned financial and operational irregularities in the Board’s investment in Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited (AIRPL), a modular refinery based in Bayelsa.
The House Committee is also looking into NCDMB’s budgetary allocations for personnel and human resources, activities of the commercial ventures department, Project Certification and Authorisation Directorate (PCAD), BOI loans, among others.
Eyebrows are being raised over the Board’s $35 million investment in AIRPL in the face of due diligence and oversight functions.
There are probing questions on how AIRPL founded in June 2020, with a meagre authorised share capital of 10 million units of ordinary shares at N1.00 per share, was quickly earmarked for substantial investment from the Local Content Board just five months post-incorporation.
Top officials in the Finance, Human Capacity Development, Human Resources, Project Certification and Authorisation, and Commercial Ventures, Departments are to answer questions on how despite lack of a solid financial or operational track record of AIRPL, NCDMB purchased 4 million units of shares at an unprecedented premium, securing a 40% minority shareholding for a staggering $35 million.
Red flags were also said to have been raised over the absence of a compelling financial and operational case from AIRPL, alongside the board’s delayed legal due diligence, suggesting a cavalier approach to investment that jeopardises public funds and undermines the credibility of the Board.
Also, an internal memo unearthed during investigations revealed unauthorised staff redeployments and promotions which appears to have been strategically issued to obscure questionable transactions, blatantly contravening established procedures.
Legal provisions under the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Act 2010 explicitly strip the Executive Secretary of any authority to appoint or redeploy management staff, a statute flagrantly disregarded with the recent redeployment signalling an act of defiance and a deep-rooted culture of impunity.
Amidst this troubling probe, the lower echelons of the workforce have voiced their grievances over the regularisation from contract to permanent staff of individuals who were above 50 years of age in direct violation of the prevailing civil service regulations which dictate age criteria for eligibility for employment within civil service.
Some of the junior staff who had voiced their concerns have been met with threats of termination, further illustrating the authoritarian regime presiding over the Board.
A member of staff who craved anonymity said the House Committee forensic audit and thorough investigation into alleged malpractices is commendable as it is poised towards restoring integrity within the Board.
