BY NKECHI NAECHE-ESEZOBOR--The Executive Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), Zacch Adedeji, has debunked report connecting the agency to the alledged illegal transfer of $279 million from the Frontier Exploration Fund, describing the report as fake news sponsored by individuals seeking to damage his reputation and that of the NRS.
The NRS boss, in a telephone reaction, refuted the allegation as baseless, insisting that neither he nor the NRS had any involvement in the alleged movement of funds.
He accused the promoters of the report of deliberately spreading misleading information and said the claims reflected a lack of understanding of the purpose and administration of the Frontier Exploration Fund.
“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. I consider it to be a brand of cheap journalism lacking in ethics and professionalism but heavy with malicious intentions.
“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,” Adedeji said.
The NRS chairman said that the sponsors of the report exhibited lack of understanding on what the Frontier Fund was all about and how it is disbursed.
He explained that the Frontier Exploration Fund was established under Section 9 of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021 and was meant to finance petroleum exploration activities in frontier basins where commercially viable hydrocarbon reserves are yet to be fully established,
The frontier basins include Bida, Benue Trough, Anambra, Chad, Sokoto and Dahomey Basins. The Fund is to used for expenses in geological mapping, seismic surveys, exploratory drilling, appraisal wells, basin studies and other exploration activities.
