Indigenous contractors beneath the umbrella of the All Indigenous Contractors Affiliation of Nigeria (AICAN) have accused the Federal Authorities of diverting funds meant for mission funds to finance President Bola Tinubu’s re-election plans.
The contractors alleged that over ₦4 trillion owed to them by the Federal Authorities is being withheld and allegedly channelled into political actions forward of future elections.
POLITICS NIGERIA earlier reported on Monday that members of the affiliation took to the streets once more. They blocked the primary entrance of the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja. The protest disrupted actions on the ministry for hours.
The contractors stated they have been compelled to renew protests after a number of failed engagements with authorities officers. They accused the administration of betraying earlier guarantees made to them by means of the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economic system, Wale Edun.
In addition they stated the Ministry of Finance had persistently didn’t honour cost obligations for tasks already executed by indigenous contractors throughout the nation.
Talking through the protest, AICAN Nationwide President, Jackson Ifeanyi Nwosu, expressed frustration over what he described as deliberate delay ways by the federal government.
He recalled assurances given by the Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, who, based on him, requested the contractors to submit required documentation for cost processing.
He stated, “So far, we’ve not seen any warrants authorised. In order that’s why we’re again to the trenches. Mr. Wale Edun advised the Senate committee that the cash that the Federal Authorities is owing indigenous contractors, over 80% of the cash has been paid.”
Nwosu disputed that declare. He insisted that the majority contractors have been but to obtain cost for jobs accomplished months in the past.
“I feel, as we communicate, there are 204 capital tasks. Solely about 30- 40% was paid. The warrants that they launched solely resulted in Could,” he stated.
He added that many contractors who labored between January and Could have been nonetheless unpaid, whereas no cost approvals have been issued from June to December.
“Most individuals from January to Could haven’t acquired cost. So between June and December, no warrants. So, which cost did they make? No alerts. No single alert. The one ones we acquired was about N230 billion they launched. And that solely finished in February,” he said.
Based on him, the unpaid liabilities go far past what the federal government has acknowledged.
“We’re speaking about over N4 trillion. There are such a lot of different tasks which have been accomplished that haven’t been paid,” he stated.
Nwosu warned that the continued refusal to pay contractors might have extreme penalties for the economic system. He stated many contractors took {bank} loans to execute authorities tasks and are actually going through asset seizures.
“The subsequent line of motion is that in the event that they don’t kill us, the economic system of this nation will die,” he stated.
He added that a number of contractors had misplaced their properties to banks, whereas others had reportedly died as a result of stress and {financial} strain.
“We’re prepared for the worst. We’re not leaving the streets. We’re prepared for the worst. And we’ll proceed to be law-abiding,” he added.
The AICAN president additional claimed that President Tinubu was absolutely conscious of the scenario and the protests.
“The president is conscious of all that’s occurring. He’s getting information, even from DSS. He’s getting experiences each day. He is aware of what he’s doing with the funds,” he stated.
He then made the strongest allegation of the protest, accusing the federal government of utilizing contractors’ cash for political functions.
“The president is aware of what is occurring. They’ve all of the funds. They’re all invested in re-election. They’re utilizing contractors’ funds to fund their election. That’s what it’s.”
The contractors vowed to maintain their protest till concrete steps are taken to clear the excellent money owed.
Nevertheless, it may very well be recalled that indigenous contractors had beforehand staged comparable protests over unpaid mission funds, warning that continued neglect of native contractors might cripple infrastructure supply and worsen unemployment throughout the nation.