By Musa Yaro, Calabar
Centre for Effective Leadership Development and Conciliation (CELDCON), has called on the various anti-graft agencies including EFCC and ICPC to ignore what it termed as “frivolous allegations,” against outgoing Governor Ben Ayade.
CELDCON is a registered and nationwide civil society advocacy group partnering with anti-graft agencies in the fight against corruption in Nigeria.
Addressing media men at the Ernest Etim Bassey NUJ Press Centre in Calabar, Saturday, the chairman of the group, Iso Edim said, being apolitical, his organization was not speaking for the governor, but ensuring that the records are made straight for the benefit of the masses.
“We call on the various anti-graft agencies, EFCC, ICPC to ignore the frivolous allegations by ‘Network Against Corruption and Human Trafficking’ and concentrate more on verifiable, tangible, and meaningful petitions before them.
“As part of our responsibility to enlighten the masses on important issues, we wish to throw light on the allegation by Network Against Corruption and Human Trafficking, about the outgoing governor of Cross River State embezzling five hundred billion naira (N500,000,000,000).
“It is a known fact that in paying back the huge debts owed by Cross River State government, the sum of between one billion, six hundred million nairas and two billion nairas is deducted at source immediately payment is made by the Federal Allocation Committee every month, which leaves the state with less than a billion naira to cope with.
“Let’s assume that the said deduction for debts never took place, it, therefore, means that the state would have received the sum of one hundred and ninety-two billion nairas for eight years at two billion nairas only or two hundred and forty billion nairas at two billion, five hundred million nairas monthly federal allocation.
“Where then did Network Against Corruption and Human Trafficking get their calculation or allegation from?”CELDCON rhetorically asked.
The Chairman also alleged that “in one of Network Against Corruption and Human Trafficking allegations, they accused the governor of embezzling a particular amount in February 2015, meanwhile, the governor took over the office on May 29, 2015, meaning that the Network Against Corruption and Human Trafficking are either paid jobbers to assassinate the character of the governor or they don’t know what they are saying or doing.”
Edim further argued that his organization remains worried that “the said group has people from other states and no Cross Riverian is a member of their group, making it more suspicious because Cross Riverians know better than outsiders.”
