Police interrogate Cross River Basin Devt Authority MD over missing equipment

The Police are interrogating and investigating Engr. Bassey Nkposong, Managing Director of Cross River Basin Development Authority (CRBDA), over missing equipment in the Authority three months to the end of his two-term tenure.

According to VANGUARD, the disappearance of a tractor MF275 model, which was removed from the parking lot of the Authority at 8 Miles in Calabar by yet-to-be-identified persons, has led to the opening of a can of worms over the disappearances of eight other tractors and a bulldozer from the place.

Engr. Nkposong was invited by the police to explain circumstances surrounding the removal of the tractor allegedly on his directives on the night of 6th October 2023, which has not been returned. The removal of the tractor brought to nine – the number of tractors removed from the parking lot of the Authority allegedly on the instructions of Nkposong.

Niger Delta Voice investigation reveals that before the removal of MF257, eight other tractors were removed between 2018 and 2022 allegedly to Wodah in Ijegwu, Yala Local Government Area, Bansara in Ogoja Local Government Area and Ochon in Obubra Local Government Area where the CRBDA has projects but after several years those tractors are yet to be returned or sighted on those project locations.

A civil society group, Rescue Support Initiative with Barrister Ayei Okpa as the Country Director, which raised the alarm, said those tractors have been removed to unknown places and plans are afoot to petition the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC and Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to hold Nkposong to account for the missing equipment and other infractions in the Authority.

“To tell you that Nkposong is behind the missing tractors when the police were invited to investigate the whereabouts of MF275 which is the most recent tractor to be taken out of CRBDA, it was discovered that the tractor was at Engineer Nkposong’s farm at Anyaghanse in Akpabuyo Local Government Area. He had moved the tractor elsewhere, but the bucket of the tractor was seen on the farm and recovered by the police,” Okpa stated.

He said a staff of the CRBDA, Mr Christopher Michael Obong, who works for Engr. Nkposong at his farm and a supervisor at the farm, Saviour Etang Ubi were arrested by the police.

“The police are investigating where the tractor is because the bucket, which is a major component of the tractor, was found on Nkposong’s farm,” Okpa said.

He said to cover up Nkposong’s complicity in the missing tractor, a Principal Works Superintendent at the Basin Authority, Mission Daniel Udo, was made a scapegoat by CRBDA management who accused him of being behind the Tractor’s removal and immediately set the process rolling for his prosecution before a Chief Magistrates Court in Calabar in Suit No. MC/188C/2024-COP.V.Mission Daniel Udo.

“Mission who is the operator of the tractor was walking past the parking lot of the Cross River Basin Authority on the evening of 6th October 2023 when he saw some persons gathered at the parking lot and he went close and was told that some young men armed with a letter written by Umannah went to take MF275 and he advised that the Chief Security Officer should take the men to Engr. Umoren, the Deputy Director Works to confirm if actually the men are acting under the directives of the MD.

Engr. Umoren directed the Chief Security Officer, who was with the letter, to make a copy of the said letter available to Mr Udo and retain the original for record purposes, but since it was late, there was no business centre close by, which fact was disclosed to Engr. Umoren advised that the release should be deferred to the following day pending when his directive is complied with, but the chief security officer nevertheless proceeded to release the said Tractor to the unknown men who removed the tractor out of CRBDA premises, in defiance of the said directive,” Okpa added.

Okpa said the CRBDA management to nail Mr Mission Udo for the theft of the missing tractor is unlawful, even while his prosecution in court was still ongoing, Mission was issued a query and a panel was set up to try him on the same allegation of stealing which was pending before the court, all with a view to sacking him.

“When we discovered the plan, we sought the intervention of the trial court, which accordingly restrained the CRBDA management from taking over the matter in court to settle it their own way, arbitrarily, and voided the said management disciplinary panel set up for that purpose,” he said.

Okpa said the need for EFCC and ICPC to investigate Nkposong has become necessary because his tenure is ending on 7th December this year and he has so many questions to answer.

“When he took over from Mrs Eyo Ita, Cross River Basin Authority had over 15 equipment ranging from tractors to bulldozers and payloaders but today there is no single functional equipment in the place,”

Barrister Okpa revealed that monies given to Nkposong to repair tractors and other equipment was diverted to his personal use. “The Basin Guest House, which was destroyed during the EndSARs, and money given to him by the federal government for rehabilitation was not used for that purpose. The guest house is covered with grass till this moment,” he added.

Confirming this, the Chairman of Agriculture and Allied Workers Union, Comrade Joseph Etim, said he was aware of the removal of eight tractors to project sites in the northern and central parts of Cross River, “But as I speak with you now, none of those tractors has been returned.”

He said Mission was also culpable in the missing MF275 because “Where is the letter he said Ummah wrote which was in his possession? He should produce the letter, let us verify its authenticity.”

Several visits to CRBDA to speak with Engineer Nkposong did not yield results and text messages to his GSM were not responded to.

However, Mr Jackson John, the Public Relations Officer of CRBDA said the letter through which the tractor was removed was not authorised by him.

He said the claims that Nkposong removed eight tractors from the place “does not hold water.”