Contrary to obviously sponsored reports in the social media yesterday that the executive secretary of the Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr Simbi Wabote did not file his assets at the Nigeria Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), OER has unearthed evidence that he actually filed his assets and was issued with authorized and duly signed certificates.
There is also evidence that Engr Simbi Wabote actually filed his assets to the Code of Conducted Bureau, when he was first appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2017, and filed again when he was reappointed for a second tenure in 2020 by same President Buhari.
Investigation show that cashing on the ongoing defamation case going on in the US between Dr Simbi Wabote and one Jackson Ude, publisher of Pointblanknews, mischief makers wrote a petition to CCB raising queries over Wabote’s assets filing status.
The CCB on receiving the petition in turn, and as is statutory, wrote to Wabote asking for information concerning his filings. The mischief makers, upon getting to know about CCB’s request, went to town with the misinformation that Wabote has no filings with the CCB.
But OER has cited an acknowledgement slip with no 0073117 from the Code of Conduct Bureau showing that Wabote attended the CCB’s Conference Assets Verification Exercise in 2017. Another acknowledgement slip shows the end of Wabote’s first tenure as the executive secretary of NCDMB and another one for the start of a new tenure.
One of the documents reads: “This is to certify that the assets declared by WABOTE KESIYE SIMBI on form CCB-1 PGAO: 000653 has been verified by the Assets verification committee, PORT HARCOURT, RIVERS STATE on This 31st of May 2017.”
The document which was signed by the federal commissioner, chairman of the committee, CCB, bears stamp on the document with the name Stephen Bekefula engraved. The document also has the signature of the declarant, Simbi Wabote.
It confirms that the NCDMB boss fully declared his assets when he was appointed and did so again when reappointed and there are CCB acknowledgement slips from the CCB to prove them.
Wabote’s ‘troubles’ started effectively when he filed a defamation suit against the publisher of Pointblanknews.com, whose publisher is a Nigerian American, Jackson Ude in 2021.
Seven times the American Court has “dismissed and denied” motions brought by Ude pleading that the court should strike out Wabote’s case against him (Ude).
The recent ragtag reports in the social media against Wabote appears to be to save Ude from facing a second deposition on February 9, after he failed among other things to answer questions regarding the names of his colleagues and other editors working for the Pointblank news.
Ude’s string of losses in the defamation suit Wabote brought against him has been on the increase. Between October 2021 and January 28, Ude has lost about seven motions he brought to the court seeking to upstage Wabote.
On the other hand, the US court superintended by Judge Joseph Leeson Jr. has upheld all the motions sought by Wabote against Ude. The latest dismissal took place on Thursday, January 27, at the United States District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, whereby Judge Joseph Leeson Jr. issued another order ECF 100, denying Ude’s request for reconsideration and stating that it made its first ruling on the merits of argument, and that the court again finds no misconduct from Wabote or his attorneys.
According to court document, “Jackson Ude, a former Nigerian citizen now residing in Pennsylvania, owns and maintains a website where he publishes Nigerian news articles. One such article accuses Simbi Kesiye Wabote of accepting bribes and paints him as a corrupt Nigerian government official.
Wabote had filed a suit against Ude in the US court claiming that the article published by Pointblanknews.com constitutes defamation on his person as a public servant.
Ude during his earlier deposition December 21, 2021, evaded providing the names of his colleagues at the Pointblanknews.com on the grounds that they are endangered by the nature of the investigative work they do Nigeria and could be killed if their identities are known.
But the court has said that Ude will sit for his second deposition on February 9, during which he is expected to reveal the names of the reporters and editors who worked with him on the defamation story.
However, the judge ruled that he can provide the names of the reporters and editors without stating which portions of the story they contributed to.
By Chibisi Ohakah, Abuja
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