Indigenous contractors have barricaded the corporate headquarters of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, following failure of the commission to pay their debts.

The contractors, under the auspices of the NDDC Indigenous Contractors Association, seized the premises of the commission six days ago for the protest.

They carried placards with inscriptions such as: “NDDC pay us our money,” “NDDC, Akwa pay Contractors please,” and “NDDC Contractors are dying”.

The President of the association, Andrew Ijegbai, lamented that for over five years, the contractors had not been paid for the services they rendered to the commission, describing it as an act of wickedness.

Ijegbai said it was painful that the contractors used their money to execute the projects, saying that despite inaugurating the projects, NDDC had refused to pay them.

“We are here because we have done jobs for NDDC for the past four years we have been waiting for our payment, but they are giving us all kinds of excuses. As it stands now we can no longer afford our children’s schools fees. We collected most of those monies from financial institutions and we used our houses as collateral now the banks are now collecting our houses.

“We have pleaded; we have gone to Abuja but to no avail. If you look at the situation you will know that are not working. NDDC has not been like this. Before once you earn your IPC you will be paid but we don’t know what is happening since the inception of this present board.

“They have seized everything we don’t even know where we are going to and they are not talking to us. Our wives don’t even respect us again in the house,” he said.

He called on President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene and prevailed on the NDDC to pay them.

The Director of Board of Trustee of the Association, Prince Victor Fakar, said they would continue the protest until the commission pays them.

(The Nation)