The Executive Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, Zacch Adedeji, has dismissed an online report alleging that $279m belonging to the Frontier Exploration Fund was transferred to unidentified accounts, describing the publication as “sponsored fake news” aimed at damaging his reputation and that of the agency.
The report had alleged that the Nigeria Revenue Service was aware of the purported transfer and that Adedeji was under pressure from stakeholders demanding a forensic audit of the fund’s account.
However, reacting to the allegation, Adedeji, in a telephone conversation, denied any involvement in the alleged transaction and described the report as false.
“That report is not true in any way. It is pure fake news sponsored by some jobless persons whose pastime is to throw mud at high performers in the President Tinubu government,” he said.
The NRS chairman accused the publishers of engaging in what he described as unethical journalism driven by malicious intentions.
“I consider it to be a brand of cheap journalism lacking in ethics and professionalism but heavy with malicious intentions,” Adedeji said.
He further alleged that the reports published by different online platforms were based on a common source, pointing to what he described as similarities in their language and narrative.
“To prove to you that it was sponsored, take a critical look at the storyline and language. They are the same language and style in all the reports, meaning that one person wrote it and distributed across gullible online platforms,” he said.
Adedeji also said the reports demonstrated a misunderstanding of the purpose and administration of the Frontier Exploration Fund.
He explained that the fund was established under Section 9 of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, to finance petroleum exploration activities in frontier basins where commercially viable hydrocarbon reserves had not yet been fully established.
The frontier basins identified for exploration include the Bida, Benue Trough, Anambra, Chad, Sokoto and Dahomey basins.
According to the NRS chairman, the fund is intended to support activities associated with the exploration and evaluation of petroleum resources in the frontier areas.
Such activities include geological mapping, seismic surveys, exploratory drilling, appraisal wells, basin studies and other related exploration programmes.
Adedeji maintained that the allegations linking him and the NRS to an alleged illegal movement of funds were therefore baseless.
The controversy comes amid heightened public scrutiny of the management and utilisation of government funds, particularly those connected with the petroleum sector.
The NRS chairman’s denial places the burden of substantiating the alleged $279m transfer on the publishers of the reports, as no documentary evidence supporting the allegation was provided in the statement issued by the agency.
The Nigeria Revenue Service urged the public to disregard what it described as false claims intended to damage the reputation of the service and its leadership.
