Sources inside Government House, Calabar, CRS, have informed www.calitown.com that state governor, Ben Ayade, is unhappy with Victor Effiom, the Managing Director, CRS Water Board Ltd, after police in the state capital, this past Saturday, intercepted a truck loaded with chemicals belonging to Water Board, leaving the premises for an undisclosed location.
Acting on a tip-off, the truck on interception was discovered to be carrying water treatment chemicals with a market value of around N25 million. Further sources informed that the truck load was headed for Aba, Abia state, where a buyer had been contacted and was waiting for the consignment.
Several phone calls to the MD, Effiom, were not taken but Godwin Igile, Board Chairman, CRSWB Ltd, confronted with the information that management approved the decision to sell the chemicals, Igile maintained that, “…it is not true, as the Chairman of the Board, I will say that at no time did the Board approve or is aware of any decision to sell any water treatment chemicals belonging to CRSWB Ltd.”
We also gathered from him that there often are “procedures in Chemistry that are used to determine the efficacy of chemicals or otherwise. Not one of those procedures was applied in this case and I just wonder how the decision was reached that the chemicals have expired or are expiring and needed to be sold.”
Further investigations by www.calitown.com revealed that, the water delivery outfit has in the last couple of months been unable to supply water from her Ikom, Ogoja, Yala/Okpoma, Obudu, Obubra and Ugep/Ediba sub stations because of the absence of water treatment chemicals. In fact, just before press time, it was discovered that in Calabar, only the Ikot Effanga axis of the city enjoys epileptic water supply, but amazingly, that water supply is however delivered from boreholes, pumped by CRSWB, instead of from her treatment plant(s).
At press time we can confirm that the impounded truck is still parked at the State Police Command Headquarters, Diamond Hill, Calabar, while the state government’s hammer may fall on persons fingered to be behind the truck movement.
