Going forward, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), says it will henceforth refer serious fraudulent discoveries from the audit of oil and gas firms to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for further action.
The development comes from a new collaboration with the anti graft agency last week for quick investigation of serious infractions by oil and gas companies in the country.
The Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Wabote, made the revelation when he led the management to a courtesy visit to Mr. Ibrahim Mustafa Magu, the Acting Chairman of the EFCC, at the Commission’s new head office building in Abuja.
According to him, “The board will like to initiate the development of a Memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two agencies to enable quick deployment once the services of the Commission are required.
“We regularly receive alerts via the whistleblowing portal on our website. We do our bit to investigate such alerts and believe some of the major findings may be candidates for referral to EFCC.”
Wabote averred that “The EFCC is one of the key agencies driving one of the core programs of His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari which in my mind, has succeeded in building a reputation for itself locally and internationally as a fearless fighter in the war against corruption”. “Thus, the Board is fully aligned with Mr. President’s fight against corruption, which is why the Board attends to requests for information or clarifications about contract and oil and gas transactions under EFCC investigation expeditiously.
Continuing, NCDMB boss disclosed that his agency has put in place an anti-corruption and transparency monitoring unit, headed by a senior member of the management team, to promote anti-corruption and ethical behavior and to investigate any internal infractions.
