Contractors Storm Finance Ministry, Protest Non-payment Of Over N18bn Debt

Local Contractors that executed validly awarded contracts in various Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government between three to 12 years on Monday protested the delay of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning to pay them.

The contractors who carried various placards arrived the finance ministry at about 11:15am, started protesting the non-payment of the amount owed them by the government.

They alleged that despite facts that billions of Naira have been approved and released by the Presidency to settle the liabilities, the Minister of Finance Budget and National Planning Mrs Zainab Ahmed had refused to settle the indebtedness.

The Publicity Secretary of the Local Contractors of Nigeria, Prince Dandy Rowland, told THE WHISTLER that over 5,000 Local Contractors across the Nation are passing through severe life threatening situations and hunger, while some have passed on as a result of the delay to pay them.

He said, “The Presidency inaugurated Presidential Initiative on Continues Audit in the Federal Ministry of Finance to verify the contracts we executed over the years and PICA has since verified these contracts over and over again and recommended for the settlement of the local contractors in batches, beginning with N10m downwards in order to cover a wide range of the Local contractors based on the available fund.

“Yet, Madam Finance Minister is still talking of verification every now and then, in order to manipulate the payment against PlCA’s recommendation.

“The Minister of Finance through her Special Adviser Media told us that N18bn has been released to pay us, and announced to the whole world on 8th July 2020 that the Finance Ministry would pay local Contractors between seven to 14 days from the date of the announcement.

“This empty deceptive and unfulfilled promise heightened our pressure from our creditors after the expiration of the stipulated period yet the game continued.”

He alleged that the fund being spent on the verification exercises is almost higher than the amount owed the local contractors put together.

Rowland said that these local contractors borrowed money from banks with interest and executed these contracts.

He added that government needed to release the payment to enable these contractors liquidated their debts

He added, “We are once again, calling on the Presidency to mandate the Minister Of Finance to Pay Local Contractors now or else we will remain in this protest and hunger strike before the eyes of the globe.

“Federal Government did not waste time to commission the projects we executed with borrowed money as her achievements, but now it is taking government decades to do verification for our payment. Federal Government cannot fool us forever.

“Therefore FG must pay us now, because if the reverse had been the case, if we had collected government money without executing the projects, government would have arrested and jailed us. This is Corruption of the highest order and it is unacceptable.”

He stated that due to the delay, many local contractors have died, while others have been hospitalized and cannot afford medical bills.

“Our children have dropped out of school. Many among us are facing criminal charges in various courts across the nation for funds borrowed and unable to pay back.

“Some have fled their homes for fear of being attacked by creditors and some have lost their homes to banks and creditors, he added.

The Special Adviser to the Minister of Finance, Mr Yunusa Abdulahi could not be reached for comments as repeated calls made to him were not answered while a text message sent to him was not responded to as of the time of this report.