by crossriverwatch admin
Mr. Gabriel Ugor, the former Chairman of Yala Local Government Area was on Thursday morning arrested by officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, at Okpoma, the council headquarters.
Ugor, a source from the Council told CrossRiverWatch was arrested at the Okpoma, few minutes before the time he was scheduled to handover to the new Chairman, Mr Mike Usibe, who was sworn in on Monday by Senator Liyel Imoke, Governor of the state.
“EFCC officials led some anti fraud policemen from the State Criminal Investigations Department, SCID, and arrested Mr Gabe Ugor and took him to Calabar”. Our source said
Arrested along with Mr Ugor were the Head of Local Government and General Administration, HOLGA, Mr Matthew Ntamu, the Director of Finance, DFS, Mr Cyprian Akpofu and the Director of Works, Ukam I Ukam.
Our source said there are many petitions bordering on mismanagement of the local government finances and award of contracts without Due Process pending in the EFCC and the ICPC against the Chairman.
“It can be recalled that the ICPC has been investigating him since 2012 and this may be a follow up to those petitions and allegations against the former chairman,” Our source said.
However, Mr Ugor told CrossRiverWatch that the police came after him at the Council headquarters while he was preparing to handover to the new chairman and informed him that: “They had an arrest warrant to arrest me and that I should meet them at the SCID at Diamond Hill, Calabar on Friday morning and that is what I will do tomorrow”,
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