Gov. Ben Ayade of Cross River State has been accused of fraud worth billions of naira. Subsequently, his younger brother, Dr Frank Ayade who is also linked to the alleged fraud has been arrested by the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He was arrested on Tuesday 23^rd August, 2016 at about 3pm at his home in Calabar, Cross River State.

Those who witnessed the arrest of the younger brother revealed that… “The EFCC 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.”

Our sources at the EFCC also squealed that: “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.”

We gathered that the younger brother’s arrest by the EFCC was because of a petition filed by Mr. Paul Ifere. The petition, titled: ‘The Fraud Called Calabar Garment Factory’. “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.”