Local contractors in the FCT staged a protest at the minister?s gate on Monday to protest the non-payment of contract sums, allegedly totalling about N5bn over a period of two years.

Some of the contractors who spoke to our correspondent said individuals? debts owed ran into millions, while appealing to the minister to interface directly with them to gain a better understanding of their demands.

?The thing is that we?ve done jobs with the FCT over the years. When the minister came, he paid us some. Most of our liability presently are from the present administration. But we have not been paid for almost two years now,? one of the contractors, Okeke Benardine, told The PUNCH.

?And if you look there, those are some of the ACs I installed. Some of the offices, I did inverters, I did borehole. And all we are doing is begging the minister. We don?t know the problem; he should just pay us. That is the essence of all this.

?Some other people did some jobs with AMMC. Most of my work is with Education and RUWASSA. Some did maintenance with Water Board, some Health. We don?t know why they are not paying us,? he added.

Asked how much the FCTA owed the contractors, Bernadine said, ?So the bill we have here is N5.2bn. Roughly, I am owed about N270 million. I have met one or two people who said their bills are not here, so I am sure it?s more than N5.2bn. I know some of our members are saying their bill is before 2023. But I can assure you that 70 per cent of the bill is from 2023.?

Another contractor, Adebola Benson, alleged that he had been arrested over the issue, after sending a text to the FCT Minister to ask why the payments were yet to be made.

?Like in my own case, I was arrested because of this matter, because I sent him a text, asking why we are having this issue. And the next thing I saw was a Police officer calling me. So, my job was investigated. And I think the Police reported back to him. But I do not know why the Police did that,? he stated.

He appealed to the minister to listen to the demands of the contractors, stating, ?We are begging him to do what he can do to make sure this money is being paid. My personal money is In millions. I can?t disclose the total sum, but it?s in millions.?

?So, we want the situation where he will listen to us directly, not from people who are around him. We want him to talk to us one-on-one. Let us know what the problem is, and why he is not paying,? he added.

Some of the contractors held placards that read, ?Hon Minister Wike, please kindly authorise our payment. We can hardly take care of our families,? and ?Hon Minister Wike, please extend your kindness to us by authorising indigenous contractors? payment,? among others.

Meanwhile, the Federal Capital Territory Administration has dismissed claims that FCT Minister Nyesom Wike awarded contracts worth N5 billion to local contractors.

In a statement, the Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, said no such contracts were issued by the Minister.

?No contract was awarded to any of the local contractors by the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike. If they have documents showing the award of contracts by the Minister, they should produce them,? Olayinka stated.

He explained that what Wike inherited were outstanding bills from previous administrations, totalling N10bn, which had been paid in two tranches of payments, and not fresh contracts.

?In December 2023, a bill of about N10 billion was presented to the Minister as outstanding payment on jobs done by local contractors before he assumed office. They called it ?Shopping? or Minor Procurement.

?The same December 2023, payment of over N5 billion was approved by the Minister, and this was made immediately. In January 2024, another more than N5 billion was paid, clearing the over N10 billion outstanding bills,? he said.

Olayinka noted that three months later, another set of contractors surfaced with fresh claims amounting to N15 billion, raising questions from the Minister himself.

The media further questioned the changing figures being put forward by the contractors. ?From N15 billion to N8 billion and now N5 billion, the question is, on whose authority was the contracts awarded? Those are the questions they have to answer first,? Olayinka stressed.

The FCTA maintained that while Wike has honoured inherited debts, he has not issued new contracts under the disputed ?minor procurement? arrangement. (The PUNCH)

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