The Looting, Nepotism, Sabotage Of The Nigerian Content Development And Monitoring Board Under Felix Omatsola Ogbe: A National Disgrace Demanding Urgent Action -

By Esther David

OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, SECURITY AGENCIES & INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS

FROM: Niger Delta Fact Finders
DATE: [14/8/2025
]
SUBJECT: THE LOOTING, NEPOTISM & SABOTAGE OF THE NIGERIAN CONTENT DEVELOPMENT & MONITORING BOARD (NCDMB) UNDER OMATSOLA OGBE: A NATIONAL DISGRACE DEMANDING URGENT ACTION

INTRODUCTION:

THE PEOPLE WILL NOT BE SILENCED

Mr. President, history will record this moment as one in which the custodian of a Federal institution, Omatsola Ogbe, turned a visionary national agency into an ethnic war chest and a private mint. The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), established to reverse decades of foreign domination in our oil and gas industry, has under Ogbe’s hand become a corruption pipeline, a hub for tribal patronage and a fortress of impunity.

This is not hearsay. This is evidenced by:

Overt contract racketeering and inflated awards.

Covert diversion of statutory projects from oil-producing host communities.

Ethnically skewed appointments in violation of the Constitution.

Strategic suppression of indigenous contractors.

Dangerous alliances with individuals of questionable national security standing.

Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) declares:

“The security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.”

Yet, under Ogbe’s tenure, security has been compromised, welfare ignored and constitutional governance replaced with tribal monopolisation.

NCDMB IS NOT A TRIBAL ESTATE: SACK OMATSOLA OGBE NOW!

Never before has the NCDMB been so nakedly appropriated for ethnic conquest. Ogbe’s pattern of appointments reads like the roll call of a private family reunion, a direct breach of Section 15(2) of the Constitution, which forbids domination of any part of the country by one ethnic group.

Documented evidence from internal HR records shows:

Over 80% of strategic positions handed to his ethnic allies.

Key Niger Delta oil-producing communities sidelined in project allocation.

Training opportunities for local youth replaced with selective, closed-door empowerment for favoured cronies.

This is not leadership, this is ethnic capture disguised as governance.

FROM NEPOTISM TO NATIONAL DISGRACE

Instead of advancing Nigerian content in oil and gas, Ogbe has presided over a systemic hijack:

Contracts inflated by up to 300% awarded without open competition.

Statutory local content programs diluted to tokenism.

Direct violation of the Public Procurement Act (2007), which in Section 16(1) mandates open competitive bidding.

Such practices not only bleed the national treasury but directly betray the NCDMB Act (2010), which requires that the Board:

“promote the participation of Nigerians in the oil and gas industry.”

Instead, Ogbe promotes the participation of his chosen few even when they have no track record, no capacity and no operational credibility.

EXECUTIVE SECRETARY OR EXECUTIVE SABOTEUR?

Under Ogbe, indigenous contractors, the very backbone of local content have been forced to beg like strangers in their own land, while contracts flow effortlessly to:

Foreign-linked fronts operating through political godfathers.

Middlemen companies with no operational offices but strong political ties.

The result? Billions exit the country in capital flight, while local firms collapse. This is economic sabotage camouflaged in official paperwork.

THE BIG NAMES CONNECTIONS: A NETWORK OF IMPUNITY

Multiple credible sources, including whistleblowers within the oil industry, have confirmed a strategic alliance between Ogbe and big names. This alliance has coincided with:

Controversial award of oil-related contracts to companies with questionable ownership structures.

The resurfacing of allegations linking certain associates of monarch to drug and arms trafficking corridors in the Gulf of Guinea.

This is not just corruption, it is a national security crisis, in breach of Section 5 of the Terrorism (Prevention) Act (2011), which criminalises material support for activities that endanger national stability.

STOP THE LOOT, STOP THE BIAS

Transparency is not optional, it is a statutory command under the Fiscal Responsibility Act (2007) and the Public Procurement Act (2007). Ogbe has instead:

Concealed budget performance reports from stakeholders.

Repeatedly awarded multi-billion naira contracts without open advertisement.

Breached Section 48 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, which mandates public disclosure of fiscal activities.

These are not minor infractions, they are grounds for immediate suspension and criminal investigation.

LEGAL & HISTORICAL CONTEXT

The Supreme Court in Fawehinmi v. Akilu (1987) held that:

“Public office is a trust for the benefit of the people.”

The lesson from Niger Delta history is equally clear: from the days of Isaac Boro’s Twelve-Day Revolution to the Kaiama Declaration of 1998, whenever governance becomes a tool for oppression, the result is resistance, unrest and instability.

Ogbe’s tenure is recreating the very injustices that these historic struggles sought to end.

OUR DEMANDS

We demand, without equivocation:

Immediate suspension of Omatsola Ogbe.
EFCC and ICPC investigations into all contracts since his appointment.
Security audit by DSS and Nigerian Police into some criminal links to oil contracts and alleged criminal networks.
Full forensic audit of NCDMB finances from 2022 to date.
National Assembly hearings on ethnic bias in Federal parastatals.

FINAL WARNING: THE CLOCK IS TICKING

The Niger Delta will not stand by while a federal corrective institution becomes a personal loot machine.

If the Federal Government fails to act within a reasonable time, we will escalate through:

Mass peaceful demonstrations in oil-producing states.

Formal petitions to ECOWAS, African Union, and United Nations.

Strategic litigation in Nigerian and international courts.

As Justice Chukwudifu Oputa warned:

“Power is a trust, and every abuse of trust is a betrayal of the people.”

Ogbe’s betrayal is total. The people’s patience is not infinite.

SIGNED:

Hon, Brown Poweide
(Chairman)

Chief, Michelle Preye
(Secretary)