Speaker of Cross River State House of Assembly, Elvert Ayambem, has confirmed that heavy duty construction equipment, allegedly stolen by some officials during former governor Ben Ayade’s government, have been recovered.

A statement signed by press secretary to the Speaker, Matrhew Okache, said the recovery followed an investigation into the misappropriation of 34 state-owned heavy-duty construction equipment.

“Recall that on Thursday 22 February, 2024, the House of Assembly unanimously reaffirmed their commitment to the recovery of the construction equipment and demanded that the perpetrators of this fraudulent scheme face justice.

“Sequel to the Assembly’s investigative resolution, some of the construction equipment recovered and taken into the State’s custody includes 1 1050k Dozzer, 1 payloader, 1 Grader, 1 850J Dozer, 1 Backo, and 2 Excavators.”

The statement quoted the Speaker as saying that out of the 23 heavy-duty trucks and equipment on the site to be transported back to Calabar, seven of the equipment have been successfully returned.

According to the statement, the slow movement to Calabar was caused by a lack of high-powered transportation vessels.

The statement assured that the recovery exercise will continue into the next week.

Ayambem reaffirmed the lawmakers’ determination to recover all of the 30 stolen pieces of equipment.

He continued by saying that the Cross River State Government will save more than N50 billion by recovering the heavy-duty equipment.

The Speaker also emphasised that the 10th Assembly will keep backing the government led by Governor Bassey Otu to return Cross River to a model state.