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…Say delay in payment causing untold hardship to them
From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
Embattled contractors handling projects under the ministry of works have pleaded with the Minister, David Nweze Umahi, to pay them for the jobs they have already completed.
They told the Minister that the delay in the payment is causing untold hardship to them and their families.
The office of Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) had recently announced the release of N57 billion funded through the national budget for the settlement of contracts.
The funds are released on monthly basis in line with World Bank’s bottom-up policy where details of all works completed are always sent to the office of the AGF which in turn, release money for payment.
Complaining to newsmen on Thursday in Abuja, the contractors claimed that the payments are made to contractors that handled projects in different MDAs except the ministry of work.
Speaking on behalf of the contractors, Bolarinwa Akinpelu, wondered why the case of the ministry of works is different, appealing to President Bola Tinubu to direct the Works Minister to pay the contractors without further delay.
“We collected facilities for these projects and need to pay back. Now that the projects have been delivered with certificate of completion made available, why is Umahi delaying the payment since he has received the money from the AG’s office?” Akinpelu complained.
He further alleged that the Works Minister has refused to direct for the payment, warning that he is grounding activities in the ministry.
“Everything people see is mere window dressing. Umahi rarely treats file and only those with connection have their files treated,” he alleged.
Flanked by some contractors, Akinpelu further noted that; “contractors want to avoid a show down or even litigation with the Minister and the ministry hence our appeal to him to urgently pay us our money for projects delivered and certified okay.”
