NRS Chairman Adedeji Debunks Existence of Frontier Exploration Fund Fraud Report

The Executive Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, NRS, Zacch Adedeji, has dismissed online reports linking the NRS to an alleged fraud involving the Frontier Exploration Fund, describing the claims as sponsored fake news.

The report had alleged the transfer of $279 million from the Fund’s account to unnamed accounts, and claimed that Adedeji and the NRS were aware of the movement of money.

It further stated that the allegation had put Adedeji under pressure with stakeholders calling for a forensic audit of the Fund’s account.

In his reaction, Adedeji described the report as false and malicious.

“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,” he said.

“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 added.

The NRS Chairman said the sponsors of the report showed a lack of understanding of what the Frontier Exploration Fund is and how it is disbursed.

He explained that the Frontier Exploration Fund was established under Section 9 of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021. The Fund is meant to finance petroleum exploration activities in frontier basins where commercially viable hydrocarbon reserves are yet to be fully established.

Frontier basins include the Bida, Benue Trough, Anambra, Chad, Sokoto and Dahomey Basins.

According to Adedeji, the Fund is to be used for expenses such as geological mapping, seismic surveys, exploratory drilling, appraisal wells, basin studies, and other exploration activities.