Cross River: Assembly vows to probe ex-gov Ayade over concession deals, ‘heavy’ debt

Speaker of Cross River State House of Assembly, Elvert Ayambem, has raised the alarm over the ‘huge’ debt left behind by former Governor Ben Ayade.

He said the debt, occasioned by frivolous loans and phantom industries initiated by Ayade’s administration, has overburdened Governor Bassey Otu’s administration.

According to him, Otu ‘is going through a lot’.

“The various loans that the previous administration of Ben Ayade acquired have relatively placed us on edge right now. You can’t quantify it because it is much and it is heavy, which is relatively placing the House on an edge also.

“We understand that Governor Bassey Otu is going through a lot because of the loans obtained by Ayade. That is our worry too.

“I wish the governor we have today came and met a loan that he can repay, it would have helped a great deal. You know he is trying to finish the International Cargo Airport in Obudu initiated by Ayade,” he said.

The Speaker added that he had cautioned Otu that he cannot necessarily continue with all of Ayade’s uncompleted projects.

“I have told the governor that it’s not every of the Ayade projects that he should give a listening ear to.

“This is because we discovered lately that almost all those that are viable were concessioned two days before Ayade left office. And Ayade concessioned them to his friends and family members.”

The Speaker added that “no dime was paid to state coffers” in the concession deals.

“I can tell you that in all of these projects, you hear about concessions, no dime was paid into Cross River State Government coffers. Not one dime. Prove me anywhere, not one dime was deposited into the Cross River State account,” he said.

The Speaker said despite the fact that the state government had 30 per cent shares in Transcorp Hotel Calabar, it was sold to private owners without any money paid into the state’s coffers.

“We had a meeting with Transcorp, they could not account for a dime that was paid to Cross River State Government yet it was sold it outright.

“Look at the Garment Factory, the Ogoja Rice Mill, and all of that, all of those industries have been concessioned but there is no document anywhere that shows that a dime was deposited into Cross River State Government coffers. Not a dime,” he stressed.

The Speaker vowed that the House will revoke all the concessions, disclosing that they are taking them one after the other.

“We will revoke all of that nonsense that they call concession. Take it from me, we will revoke all. We will because you cannot concession any state government infrastructure and don’t deposit a dime into the state government’s coffers. It is not done anywhere in the world.”

He added that the lawmakers would probe Ayade’s administration.