By Ebriku John Friday
The Managing Director/CEO, Water Board Limited, Cross River State, Mr Victor Effiom Ekpo has refuted reports making the rounds that chemicals of the state owned water board company have been stolen, saying “there were rather moved from the warehouse with consent of the management”.
He explained that, the management took the decision at it’s meeting held on August 19, 2021 to either return the chemicals or sell same to pay the supplier, Angood Nigeria Limited, and avoid further embarrassment and litigations.
The management had in a separate reaction said, the attention of the Management of Cross River Waterboard Limited has be drawn to an online news platform and shared by some faceless individuals misinterpreting the collective decision of the Management of the board.
It’s not in our styles to reply to cheap blackmails targeted at misleading the gullible public but to set the records straight the Managing Director/CEO(Hon Victor Effiom) of Cross River state Waterboard Limited is an upright personality who believes in team work and collective decision of the board in his quest to ensuring a better and more suitable portable, drinkable water for all Cross Riverians.
In a released made available to journalists in Calabar, Mr Ekpo said, “I am aware of the chemicals, the said chemicals belong to the Water Board Limited, the chemicals was not stolen from the company warehouse, but was rather moved from the warehouse with the consent from the entire management of Cross River State Water Board Limited.
“It is on record that the management of the above mentioned company held a meeting on the 19th of August, 2021 and decided to return the chemicals or sell it to pay back the owners, in other to avoid more litigations.
“The supplier of the chemicals had earlier petition the board to the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), which l was invited on the 5th of August, after serious interrogation, l was released on self recognition and later invited the director of account and Head of store for further investigation.
“Angood Nigerian Limited supplied the said chemicals worth N88,350,000 (Eighty Eight million three hundred and fifty thousand naira) with Local purchase order (LPO) 030 which we have not been able to pay the supplier.
“To avoid further embarrassment, we signed undertaking with Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC ), for repayment of N20 million naira per month, which on the 27th of August is the appointment with EFCC to present a bank draft of N20 million naira to Angood Limited as part payment. In other not to face more embarrassment we contacted a buyer to meet up with the due date.”
