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Our correspondent | 6th September 2022
As the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC release its final list of National Assembly candidates across the country, all seems not well for the Cross River state chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, as a human right and forest protection group known as Nigeria Climate And Eco Habitats Protection Initiative has petitioned the APC flag bearer for Ikom/Boki Federal constituency, Mr Francis Ojong Agbor bordering on his alleged illegal activities and financial embezzlement of public funds.
According the petitioned letter sighted by our correspondent and dated 13th August 2022, the National Assembly hopeful is accused of engaging in Illegal wood logging which have been outlawed by the Cross River State government. He is also been accused of illegally collecting revenue from other persons in the illegal wood logging business.
The petition reads in part;
"Different from the crime of continued aiding and abetting of illegal logging banned by
government, available proofs indicates that about one hundred trucks of woods are
being crossed to domestic markets in the country by-weekly from Boki conserved
forest via the haulage and royalty receipts clearance being issued by the said Francis
Ojong Agbor (see appendixes 1, 2, 3 and 4). Merchants pay a whooping N700,000
(seven hundred thousand Naira) to move single truck load of woods from Cross River
State bringing the weekly subtotal to N70,000,000 (seventy million naira). Multiply
N70,000,000 by four weeks in a month and 52 weeks in a year, such humongous amount of monies coming from haulage and royalties are under the greedy embezzlement of one man, Eze-ego and therefore calls for urgent investigation."
"Francis Ojong Agbor is in possession of several revenue receipts he uses for extortion which he claims were contracted to him by government. (see appendixes 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10). Some of these receipts are printed in his name which monies collected goes straight to his personal pocket. He created extrajudicial revenue collection points around and outside Boki for the purpose of this haulage revenues collection without government approval and interference, leaving much to be concerned about his operations."
The petition which is already causing confusion in the APC camp as the leadership of the party and the accused are said to be running from pillar to post on search of soft landing for the party's candidate as such offence if found guilty is weighty enough to make the party loss it's candidate for the federal constituency election.
On sighting this petition, TDN reached out to the party leadership in the state and the candidate separately, but there was no positive response they both didn't take up calls nor reply text messages sent.
Below is a screenshot of the petition.
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