Ex-lawmaker denies planned protest over NCDMB investment, insist on EFCC probe

Former Lawmaker representing Brass/Nembe Federal Constituency of Bayelsa State, Hon. Israel Sunny- Goli has dismissed allegations of planning a protest to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) seeking to compel it to commence probe into the multi-million-naira investments made by the Nigerian Content development Monitoring Board (NCDMB).

A group, Niger Delta Justice Forum (NDJF) had recently said it uncovered a plot being bankrolled by the Minister of State for Petroleum,(Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri using Sunny-Goli to rent a crowd to protest in Abuja, Port Harcourt and Yenagoa, against Wabote and former Minister of State (Petroleum), Chief Timipre Sylva in the bid to stampede the EFCC to commence investigations into the allegations of misappropriation of funds by the NCDMB.

Sunny- Goli who represented Nembe/ Brass Federal constituency in the 9th National Assembly, in a statement accused NDJF of being bankrolled to publish falsehood in the attempt to divert the attention of the public from the petition which bordered on the misappropriation of public funds by the Simbi Wabote-led NCDMB.

While dismissing allegations of being used by Lokpobiri, he maintained that that his decision to submit a petition to the EFCC was borne out of personal conviction that public funds must be accounted for.

He said: ‘’I wish to state emphatically, that I am not a coward who hides under fictitious characters to throw darts, which explains why I personally went down to the EFCC office in Abuja to submit a petition I wrote on my letterhead and signed. I take full ownership of the petition I submitted in person to the EFCC, calling on them to investigate and bring to book anyone found culpable in the event of any financial misappropriation in some of the disbursements made by the Simbi Wabote led NCDMB, particularly with respect to the $35 million invested in the Atlantic Refinery and another $20 million disbursed for the Brass Fertilizer & Petrochemical Company Ltd. I also stand by the claims contained therein in my petition and maintain that nothing tangible has been achieved in any of those projects despite the huge sums claimed to have been fully paid for them,’’ he said.

He challenged sponsors of the group to disprove all that were contained his petition and show proof of the completion of the Atlantic International Refinery & Petrochemical Ltd, the Brass Fertilizer & Petrochemical Company Ltd, and the Brass Petroleum Product Terminal Limited or any proof of appreciable milestone made in the projects under consideration after the huge sums purportedly invested in them

Sunny- Goli insisted that the EFCC is a professional government agency that cannot be used to witch-hunt anybody and which does not need anyone to railroad it to do its duties.

“While I will not stoop low to the level of name dropping, I wish to state unequivocally that I will not be cowed into backing out of my pursuit of standing up for my people , who would be the primary beneficiaries of these projects sited in our communities. Every penny claimed to have been invested in those projects must be accounted for, and if there are any established cases of financial misappropriation, everyone involved shall be made to face the full wrath of the law,’’ he added.