N5.2bn debt: FCT local contractors battle Wike

Wike

Local contractors in the Federal Capital Territory and the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, clashed on Monday over alleged unpaid contract bills said to total about N5.2bn.

On Monday, protesting contractors stormed the minister’s gate, demanding payment for jobs executed over the past two years.

Some of them alleged that individual debts owed ran into hundreds of millions, appealing to Wike to meet them directly to understand their plight.

One of the contractors, Okeke Benardine, told The PUNCH: “The thing is that we’ve done jobs with the FCT over the years. When the minister came, he paid us some. Most of our liability presently are from the present administration. But we have not been paid for almost two years now.

“And if you look there, those are some of the ACs I installed. Some of the offices, I did inverters, I did boreholes. And all we are doing is begging the minister. We don’t know the problem; he should just pay us. That is the essence of all this.”

He put the total claim at N5.2bn, adding that his personal outstanding was about N270m.

“I have met one or two people who said their bills are not here, so I am sure it’s more than N5.2bn. I know some of our members are saying their bill is before 2023. But I can assure you that 70 per cent of the bill is from 2023,” Bernardine added. Punch