By Our Reporter
Abuja: Contractors handling Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) projects have appealed to the Minister, Mr Nyesom Wike, to pay the over N5.2 billion they claim the administration owes them.
Mr Adebola Benson, Chairman of the Indigenous Contractors, made the appeal at a news conference in Abuja on Wednesday, expressing the group’s displeasure.
He said the FCT administration owes indigenous contractors handling various projects within the FCT over N5.2 billion, adding that the members have invested heavily in carrying out the projects.
According to Benson, members can no longer meet their family responsibilities due to the resources invested, and some have died from stress.
Mr Rufai Mosuwa, a member of the contractors’ committee, stated that members shouldn’t have any issues collecting their money, as due process was followed.
He said most jobs have been completed, with completion certificates submitted, while others are near completion.
“Ordinarily, we shouldn’t have issues with payment if the FCT Minister hadn’t stopped it. We’ve written an open letter to President Bola Tinubu to intervene; the effect of non-payment is unimaginable,” Mosuwa said.
He added that they have written seven letters to the Minister, the Senator representing the FCT, Sen. Ireti Kingibe, and other authorities, but have received no response.
“We have written a letter to the Senator representing FCT, Sen. Ireti Kingibe, who tried to intervene. She forwarded our letter to the Senate Committee on Public Petition. We appeared there once for them to look into our case, but the FCT representative was not at that meeting.
“The case was adjourned, and since then, they have not called us. We have also written to the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on FCT, Sen. Aliyu Betara.
“We have also submitted our complaint to the Department of State Security (DSS), but nothing has come out of all these letters.
“Recently, we have written to the Senate President, Inspector-General of Police, but we are yet to get a response from all,” Mosuwa said.
Mr Martins Ezendu, a member of the Board of Trustees, spoke on the impact of non-payment, saying many members are sick, have died, or have been ejected from their homes. He urged the minister to settle the debt urgently, warning that continued inaction would not only provoke protest but could further endanger the well-being of contractors facing hardship.
