BEVERLY HILLS, May 30, (THEWILL) – Although the Cross River state government claimed it had written a letter to the effect, erstwhile presidential adviser, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, on Friday accused the Governor Ben Ayade, of sending his aides to forcefully remove a Toyota Prado SUV in her Calabar residence while she was out of the country.
But the state government said it, had through the Director of Administration, Mr. David Edem, addressed a letter dated June 9 to Ita-Giwa in her capacity as Chairman of the Board of Bakassi Deep Seaport, alerting her of the withdrawal of the sports utility vehicle attached to her.
While the letter explained that “the vehicle, with chassis number JTEBX9FJXCK233671, is required to boost our depleted fleet and deepen our service delivery responsibilities,” she claimed that no letter was written to her, adding that it was wrong for some aides to storm her compound in her absence.
She told newsmen, “They stormed these premises in my absence to remove the car the governor gave to me.
“They removed the Prado Jeep. Even if they had wanted the car, they should have written to me or waited for me to come back.
“But they stormed the premises in my absence and collected the car. What has car got to do with the missing relief materials?”
Ita-Giwa added that the governor had, in their private discussion, agreed that she can keep the vehicle, only for some persons to storm her house on June 15, same day that some government officials were in Ata Ema trying to defend the diverted relief materials and at the same time denouncing her as a Bakassi leader.
“No matter the attempt to intimidate me, I will not give up on that fight. I have been on the struggle for Bakassi for about 28 years and now on this struggle, I will not give up,” she vowed.
The rumour mill has it that the withdrawal might be in reaction to her defection to the All Progressives Congress, APC, and whistle-blowing on the alleged diversion of relief materials meant for Bakassi Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, at Atai Ema, alleged to have been grabbed by top government and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, officials in the state.
The former presidential liaison officer to the Senate, had on June 3, led a team of security operatives to recover some relief materials in a private residence in Calabar.
Meanwhile, the letter, captioned, ‘Request for Return of Vehicle,’ from the state government read: “With compliments and best wishes from the office of the Governor, I most respectfully request you to please return the black Toyota Land Cruiser Jeep officially allocated to you by this office on September 6, 2016.”
The letter added, “Any inconvenience caused by this request is regretted, while thanking you for your understanding, even as your prompt response to this notice is anticipated.
“Please, accept the assurances our deepest respect, consideration and esteemed regards.”
In her absence, the vehicle was on June 15 retrieved by the Transport Officer in the Governor’s Office, Mr. Bisong Agbe, who acknowledged receipt, saying: “I received, with thanks, one Toyota Prado Jeep returned by Ita-Giwa. Vehicle is in good working condition.”
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