By Felix Durumbah
Local contractors of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have sent a Save Our Soul (SOS) message to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over an indebtedness to them by the FCT Minister, Barrister Nyesom Wike.
The debt, for contracts duly awarded by FCT Administration (FCTA), headed by the Minister, and executed by the contractors, is to the tune of N5,211,503,589.05 (Five billion, two hundred and eleven million,five hundred and three thousand,five hundred and eighty-nine Naira,five kobo).
In a statement issued today and signed by Executive Council (Exco) members of their umbrella group, Association of Indigenous Contractors of FCT, Mr Jamilu Gwandu, Mr Ibrahim Sabi, Mr. Manasseh Chahul, Mr Benson Ehuwa, and Mr Andy Kor, they pleaded with the President to direct the Minister to pay them for contracts done on public infrastructure projects.
According to them, the projects included sundry works on sewage, drainage, planting of trees in the nation’s capital, desalination of public water, maintenance and equipping of public secondary schools and hospitals, and many others.
They narrated a story of woe in seeking payment from the Minister, who,they said, authorized several meetings on the matter through his subordinates,only to refuse to pay for over a year now for unknown reasons.
Their words: “The Hon. Minister, rather than address the matter by directing our payment for the said jobs, resorted to physical harassment, oppression,using the police to teargas us, arrest and detain some of our members, simply for demanding our legal and legitimate rewards/payments. It defies justice and fairness –these two very virtues Your Excellency holds dear.
“Our tear-gassing during a peaceful protest in front of FCTA Secretariat gates on July 23,2024, was widely reported in the media.
“We have worked with past FCT Ministers in a cordial, warm relationship,which led to the practical implantation of a verifiable explosion of public utility projects across the FCT for the benefit of Nigerians and visitors alike.”
Declaring that they were compelled to reach out to some prominent Nigerians close to the Minister to plead with him to settle their contracts bill, all to no avail, they urged President Tinubu to urgently wade into the matter for them to be paid.
They added:”Mr President, you are etched in gold in Nigeria’s annals as a nice man, who rejected the jackboot style of governance, hence your resort to fighting military dictatorship until your efforts, alongside those of a rainbow coalition of pro-democracy activists, birthed Nigeria’s current democracy in 1999.
“Your well-lauded election, subsequently, as Governor of Lagos State, Nigeria’s commercial capital, was a fitting reward for a man who had suffered plenty of personal and group losses to kick out tyranny and usher in rule by the people’s will.
“As we write, many of our members are sick and in different hospitals, some struck down with sudden, potential killer high blood pressure; some evicted by their landlords/landladies; most have children who are now out of school due to lack of money to clear the rising backlog of fees. Hunger has inevitably crept into our homes. The sight of our family members crying out for food that we can’t afford to provide,can easily kill a man!
“On bended knees, we appeal to your renowned milk of human kindness to order Wike to give us our money.”
