… Mobilizes CSOS for Protest
In line with calls by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for Nigerians to join hands with him in building a country of our dreams, Save Nigeria Movement, a front line civil society organisation dedicated to fighting corruption has keyed into the agenda and has renewed calls for the sacking of Engr. Kesiyi Simbi Wabote, the Executive Secretary of Nigeria Content Monitoring Development Board (NCMDB) in line with the anti-corruption stance of the current administration.
This is coming after damming revelations made by Jackson Ude, a US based investigative journalist relating to a $2 million bribe collected from SAIPEM by Engr. Wabote to facilitate the latter’s involvement in the $10billion NLNG Bonny Train 7 as well as calls made by CSOs including HURIWA for his sack following series of allegations bordering on bribery and corruption, non-disclosure of assets, abuse of office as well as money laundering charges.
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In a release widely circulated to journalists in Abuja over the weekend and signed by Joshua Abah, the National Director of Save Nigeria Movement, the group highlighted various infractions of the NCMDB boss and vowed to work closely with Mr. President who has provided a workable blueprint, political will as well as a commitment to ending corruption to rid the country of corrupt elements.
According to the statement, “Mr. President, you have so far demonstrated the political will and commitment to end corruption in Nigeria. It is pertinent for you to sanitise the system and bring on board incorruptible men and women to work for this country. Engr. Simbi Wabote is an inherited liability with a lot of cases to answer and he can’t continue to pollute your administration. You must therefore sack and prosecute him as you’ve done to the EFCC and CBN bosses to serve as a deterrent to others”
The group maintained that Engr. Wabote has a several cases with law enforcement agencies including the non-disclosure of his assets to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) but instead of facing the charges against him, he prefers to use blackmail and threats to prevent the public from holding him accountable for his crimes, adding that he should tell Nigerians about the the status of his defamation suit against Mr. Jackson Ude in the US District Court of Eastern District of Pennsylvania and whether he provided the documents leading to the launch of NLNG Bonny Train 7 as requested by the court.
“We challenge Engr. Simbi Wabote to provide proof that he has been cleared by the US court on allegations of bribery and corruption and a breach of local content laws and his association with SAIPEM. If he sued for damages as claimed, what was the outcome? Has he presented the court documents requested of him? Why didn’t he declare his accounts in Bank of America and HSBC? As it stands, he’s unfit to hold office and must be sacked immediately,” the statement added.
The gravity of non-assets disclosure, the group noted is enough to have earned Engr. Wabote a sack and imprisonment but wondered why nothing has been done about Wabote which has emboldened him to continue to abuse his office including the use of tax payers money to prosecute a court case in a US Court against Mr. Jackson Ude.
” Engr. Wabote’s non disclosure of assets is enough to have earned him a sack as it was done in the case of Chief Justice of Onmoghnen of the Supreme Court Mr. but unfortunately he is still in the office. Worrisome is the fact that he has continued to use public funds to prosecute a private legal battle against
a Nigerian citizen in a foreign court. It’s sad that he has been using his office to issue public statements about the case when the NCMDB has not been joined in the suit. This is taking Nigerians for a ride and he must be sacked to put an end to this recklessness”, the statement added.
The group further alleged that Engr. Wabote has been engaged in employment racketeering where jobs in the agency are given only to his tribesmen and cronies with other slots sold for millions of naira in flagrant disregard for federal character and fairness.
Part of the statement reads, “the Executive Secretary of NCMDB, Engr. Wabote has been secretly employing staff in his agency without following laid down procedures. He has violated Federal Character and resorted to selling jobs to vulnerable Nigerians. We therefore call on the House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee investigating job racketeering across federal government agencies to invite him for questioning to unravel the magnitude of administrative recklessness”.
The group finally called on Mr. President, the DSS, EFCC and other anti-corruption agencies to review the allegations against the NCMDB boss and take appropriate actions in the interest of the public as allowing him to remain in office will only serve to embolden other appointees to tow the same line thereby derailing the fight against corruption in the country.
“We are confident that Mr. President will act in line with his renewed hope agenda. As strategic partners, we have done our part by calling the attention of security agencies to the nefarious crimes going on in that agency. We’ll continue to stand by our mandate and ensure that corrupt leaders and appointees are made to face the wrath of the law”, the statement concluded.
The group further insisted that it mobilize a protest if Mr President failed to act on the demands of Nigerians.
