The arrest, our correspondent gathered
on Wednesday, was sequel to a petition filed by one Paul Ifere and other
indigenes of the state.
The operatives were said to have
arrested the younger Ayade after conducting a search on his Calabar
residence at about 3pm on Tuesday.
The petition, titled, ‘The Fraud Called
Calabar Garment Factory,’’ which was sent to the EFCC on May 12, 2016,
accused the state government of spending N2.7bn on the factory through
Frank Ayade, who had no defined public role in the administration of
Governor Ayade.
An eyewitness living close to Ayade’s
house in Calabar, Mr. Ekwe Samson, said, “The operatives were many in
number. While some led Dr Frank into the house to conduct a search,
others waited outside.
“The search lasted for about one hour
before they drove off with Dr Frank again. We got information that the
anti-graft agency would be visiting before they came.”
An EFCC official from the South-West,
who is among the operatives investigating the matter in Port Harcourt,
said, “The commission is investigating several petitions that have been
written about shady transactions in relation to the Cross River Garment
Factory and other matters in the state.”
The petition made available to The PUNCH,
read in part, “Further to my avowed commitments to key into the
President Muhammadu Buhari’s change mantra to liberate our country from
the epidemic corruption virus, I wish to bring to your notice, knowledge
and, indeed, that of the public, the monumental fraud encapsulated in
the construction of the Cross River Garment Factory in Calabar by
Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State.
“It will interest you to note that from
the facts available to me, Governor Ben Ayade’s government so far has
spent, through his younger brother, Mr. Frank Ayade, who holds no
defined public office, more than N2.7bn on the garment factory.”
Although Governor Ayade did not respond
directly to the interrogation of his younger brother by the EFCC, at a
press parley in Calabar on Wednesday, he noted that the Calabar Garment
Factory was owned by the state government.
While dismissing the insinuations that
the factory was privately owned, Ayade stated that there were verifiable
documents to prove that there was no fraud involved.
Efforts to speak with the Chief Press
Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Christian Ita, proved abortive as he did
not respond to calls and text messages.