LOCAL CONTRACTORS DECRY NON-PAYMENT.... Threaten Massive Protest To Works Ministry, Head Of Service

"Foreign contractors and expatriate firms were being accorded preferential treatment by the same Ministry to the disaffection of their local counterparts who are Nigerians." Maduka.

Aggrieved local contractors at the Federal Ministry of Works, Abuja are preparing for a showdown over what they have described as unjust treatment and deliberate failure of the Ministry to treat files on contracts already completed and execute payment.

The local contractors, in their numbers have threatened to storm the Federal Ministry of Works in protest over non payment for contracts already executed.

Addressing journalists on Monday in Abuja, the aggrieved contractors who spoke through Vitalis Maduka said the proposed action had become compelling consequent on the deliberate refusal of the Ministry to take action on files of the local contractors that had already been completed and execute payment for such.

According to Maduka, "foreign contractors and expatriate firms were being accorded preferential treatment by the same Ministry to the disaffection of their local counterparts who are Nigerians."

Maduka hinted that should the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mahmuda Mamman, fail to heed their demands, they would embark on massive protest to the Ministry of Works, Office of the Head of Service of the Federation, the National Assembly and National Human Rights Commission to seek their intervention.

Tribune Online checks revealed that the threat of mass protest by the local contractors was being contemplated, a week after a Civil Society Organisation, Governance Monitor Initiative (GMI) addressed a media briefing in Abuja, asking President Bola Ahmad Tinubu to look into alleged sabotage of contract to mitigate flooding by same Ministry of Works.

Programme Manager of GMI, Frank Chigozie, equally accused certain senior officials in the Ministry of deliberately frustrating efforts to move the country’s infrastructure development forward.

Spokesperson of the Ministry, Blessing Lere-Adams, had last week dismissed the allegation raised by GMI, describing it as unfounded.

In her response, she noted that the petition raised was neither signed nor dated

“I’m sorry, the petition must be authenticated by these: an identifiable address date/reference well endorsed with a name/mobile number inclusive. Only then it can be attended to. Please note!!!,” she said. (Nigerian Tribune)