Take Us To Court If You Didn’t Divert Cross River State Billions Of Naira, NACAT Challenges Governor Ben Ayade

The press briefing held by the Network Against Corruption and Trafficking against Gov. Ben Ayade of Cross River State has no doubt ruffled the governor’s feather and rumpled the state government, so much that the Chief Press Secretary, Mr Christian Ita has been moving from newspaper offices, pleading and paying editors not to publish the expose revealed by NACAT.

As a responsible NGO, we are throwing an open challenge to Governor Ben Ayade to take us to court if he believes we lied against his wanton looting and misappropriation of the state fund. We will not be dragged into exchange of words with a hired NGO that cannot carry out the kind of audit and investigation of government accounts like we do in our organisation, unarguably the first of its kind by any NGO in Nigeria.

Contrary to Mr Ita’s accusation that we have been sponsored by the opposition political party to expose him in order to deter him from his tribunal case, we are pleased to tell him and the nation that every governor in Nigeria will have their books opened to the public, including past governors who wasted their state resources, irrespective of political parties and petitions submitted against them to national and international anti-graft agencies and embassies.

The task to minimise corruption starts with us as NGOs, before the EFCC, ICPC and the CCB and if the only role we can play is to carry out investigations, make public and submit to the agencies; we have gladly taken up this mantle. And if it leads to Golgotha, so be it.

Signed

Tega Samson (Executive Director of Investigation)

Stanley Ugagbe (Operational Manager)