Sylva didn’t demand $20m for Bayelsa re-run elections —NCDMB

TRACKING____Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) said on Thursday the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, did not demand $20 million from its Executive Secretary, Mr. Simbi Wabote, to fund Bayelsa rerun elections.

The Manager of Corporate Communications, NCDMB, Mr. Naboth Onyesoh, who disclosed this in a statement in Abuja, described the allegation as spurious and malicious.

He added that the claim was completely misleading and a figment of the imagination of those behind it.

Onyesoh said: “Ordinarily, the Board would have ignored this fake news, especially one planted in a notorious publication.

“However, we are constrained to react because sponsors of the wicked tissues of lies are intent on destroying the good image of the Board and the strong reputation of the Executive Secretary and that of the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and portray the Board as partisan.

“We verily believe that this outright fabrication was sponsored by those angling to contest for the senatorial elections in Bayelsa West Senatorial District, who are in the habit of concocting wild allegations to distract the NCDMB and lure us into local politics.

“For the avoidance of doubt and to set the records straight, NCDMB wishes to state categorically as follows: There is no iota of truth in that story.

“It is completely mendacious and a figment of the imagination of those behind it. From inception in 2010 till date, NCDMB has never been pressurized or required to sponsor anything that has partisan colouration.

“The current Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, has never demanded nor suggested to the Board and its leadership to fund any political activity in Bayelsa or any part of the country, however described.

“As a federal agency, NCDMB is focused on its statutory mandate as enshrined in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act.”