NRS Chair Refutes online report on Frontier Exploration Fund

The Executive Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), Zacch Adedeji, has rejected online reports linking the agency to an alleged $279 million fraud involving the Frontier Exploration Fund, describing the reports as fabricated and malicious.

Reports circulating online had alleged that $279 million was transferred from the Frontier Exploration Fund’s account to unidentified accounts, claiming that Adedeji and the NRS were aware of the alleged unauthorised transactions.

The reports further suggested that the alleged development had placed Adedeji under pressure, with some stakeholders purportedly demanding a forensic audit of the Fund’s account.

However, Adedeji, who spoke by telephone, denied the allegations, describing the reports as “pure fake news” allegedly sponsored by individuals seeking to damage his reputation and that of the NRS.

“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 described the reports as unethical and lacking in professionalism, alleging that they were deliberately designed to tarnish his image.

He also claimed that the similarity in the language and presentation of the reports published by different online platforms suggested that they originated from a common source.

“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.

He argued that those behind the reports had misunderstood the purpose and administration of the Frontier Exploration Fund.

Adedeji explained that the Frontier Exploration 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.

He listed the frontier basins covered by the Fund as the Bida, Benue Trough, Anambra, Chad, Sokoto and Dahomey basins.

According to him, the Fund is intended to finance exploration-related activities, including geological mapping, seismic surveys, exploratory drilling, appraisal wells, basin studies and other activities associated with petroleum exploration.

Adedeji maintained that the allegations linking the NRS to an alleged diversion of the Fund were unfounded, insisting that the reports were part of an attempt to undermine his reputation and the credibility of the revenue service.