Contractors executing projects for the Federal Capital Territory Administration have appealed to the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, to pay over N5.2 billion they claim is owed to them for completed and ongoing jobs.
The chairman of the local contractors, Adebola Benson, made the appeal at a news conference in Abuja on Wednesday, where he expressed dissatisfaction over the prolonged non-payment.
Benson said members of the group invested substantial resources in executing the projects and are now facing severe hardship.
He explained that many contractors can no longer meet basic family obligations due to the financial strain, adding that some members have reportedly died from stress linked to the situation.
Also speaking, a member of the contractors’ committee, Rufai Mosuwa, said there should be no obstacles to the release of their payments, noting that all contracts followed due process.
According to Mosuwa, most of the projects have been completed and certificates of completion duly submitted, while others are at advanced stages.
“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,” Mr Mosuwa said.
He added that the contractors had written seven letters to the minister, the senator representing the FCT, Ireti Kingibe, and other relevant authorities, but received no response.
“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, Senator Aliyu Betara.
“We have also submitted our complaint to the Department of State Security. But nothing has come out of all these letters. Recently, we have written to the Senate president, and the inspector-general of police. But we are yet to get a response from all,” Mosuwa said.
A member of the board of trustees, Martins Ezendu, highlighted the human cost of the delayed payments, saying several contractors have fallen ill, died, or been evicted from their homes due to financial pressure.
Ezendu urged the FCT minister to settle the outstanding debt without further delay, warning that the contractors would resort to protests if their demands continue to be ignored.
