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From Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin Kebbi
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The school feeding contractors in Kebbi State have pleaded with the state governor, Dr Nasir Idris, to come to their aid by offsetting the inherited backlogs of school feeding contracts worth N1.350 billion left behind by two former governors, Saidu Nasamu Dakingari and Senator Atiku Bagudu, since 2015.
They noted that they have sought the governor’s audience through many channels without any success, stressing that they are seeking his attention because they know Governor Idris to be a leader of the masses who would not want the less privileged in the state to suffer.
While speaking to newsmen in Birnin Kebbi, one of their leaders, Hajia Maryam Umar, explained that they have exhausted all possible means to get across to the Kebbi governor to lodge their pains because they know him as a man of compassion and generosity.
She said: “But all our efforts met brick wall. We know his government is not the one that is owing us, it was a liability he met which should have been settled by Nasamu or Bagudu’s administrations. But they refused, but we have confidence in Governor Idris led government and that is why,we are begging him to come to our aid”.
Umar, who disclosed that their members are over 30,000, said that many of them have died, several others are bedridden because they have put all their capital into the school feeding, saying that they were denied payments since 2015 till date.
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In an emotion-laden voice, Hajia Umar, who travelled down to Birnin Kebbi from her village, noted that due to debts hanging on their necks, some of their husbands have absconded from their families because they could no longer have means to cater for their families since their only means of livelihood has been soaked in the contract and no payments.
“Some members who could not afford to marry off their daughters are watching hopelessly as their daughters engage in prostitution and other forms of social vices to make an ends meet.
“Our struggle too us as far as Human Rights Commission, visited the four Emirates in Kebbi state all in the efforts to get payments but to no avail. Let me use this medium to amplify our passionate appeal to our compassionate Governor to save our souls”, he said.
Musa Yahya Gulumbe, one of the representatives of the contractors, also said that they have made frantic efforts during the former governor of Kebbi State, Alhaji Saadu Nasamu Dakingari, to pay them but we didn’t succeed.
“We continued our struggle during Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu too through our his eight years. We did all required from us without any success. His administration did not pay us.
“We are now appealing to Governor Idris to come to our aid because we know he is very compassionate leader. We are sure he is not aware of our ordeal. If he knew,he would have intervened and help us offset the liability.”
