Dr Ayade, Brother To Cross River State Gov Arrested By EFCC Over $2.4bn Contract Scam

Dr Francis Ayade

Dr. Francis Ayade, the brother of Cross River State Governor, Professor Ben Ayade was on Tuesday apprehended by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over an alleged an alleged N2.4bn contract scam.

The Managing Director of Leophina Nigeria Limited and Hally Brown International Limited, was accused of diverting four different allocations from the accounts of the federal government into the account of Hally Brown International Limited—which is owned by him.

According to the investigations carried out by the EFCC, Hally Brown International Limited was awarded a road construction contract to the tune of N2.4bn in 2011.

To finance the contract, Ayade allegedly took a loan of N350,000,000( Three Hundred and Fifty Million Naira only) from First Bank Plc, on behalf of Cross Rivers Rural Access and Mobility Project.

The loan, was however, never used for the contract, but transferred into the Mobility Project.

Ayade has also been implicated in alleged suspicious transactions involving Obudu Micro Finance Bank, among other allegations.

He has been offered administrative bail but still in the custody of the EFCC until he fulfills the bail conditions.