Contractors have called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene over delayed payments after execution of their various projects insisting that the delay was causing them untold hardship.
Recently, it was reported that the federal government released N200bn for payment to contractors handling different federal government funded capital projects across the country.
However, the contractors claimed they had waited with bated breath but had yet to be paid even as they claimed that there were no reassuring words from the government.
Some of the contractors claimed that they had been given payment vouchers some weeks ago, indicating that they have been paid but later discovered that there were no cash-backing to access the said money.
They believed that the delay in the payment could not be divorced from the alleged centralisation of the payment procedures of the local contractors by the office of the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF).
A contractor, Elegbeleye Taiwo Ibrahim Bamisaye, in a chat with reporters in Abuja, said, “The resultant effect on us is that we keep on servicing the interests on the loans and the bonds we entered into, to execute and complete these projects.
“We had hoped that the money would be released as scheduled. Our workers cannot get their salaries and to meet the needs of our families are becoming difficult on daily basis.
“The President should please come to our rescue. It has never been in the history of Nigeria that the government could not meet her obligations on budget implementation,” Bamisaiye said.
Meanwhile, it was gathered that the contractors have concluded plans to embark on mass protest over the delayed payment.
[5/12, 8:10 AM] Sunday Isuwa: Constituents Lambast Katsina NASS Members For Defecting To APC
Knocks For Katsina Lawmakers Who Dumped PDP For APC
Defection: Constituents Accuse Katsina Lawmakers Of Betrayal
Katsina Lawmakers Under Fire For Dumping PDP
Some residents of Mashi/Dutsi; Bakori/Danja and Batsari/Danmusa/Safana federal constituencies of Katsina state have chided their representativess for defecting to the ruling APC.
It would be recalled that members representing these constituencies at the House of Representatives, Salisu Yusuf Majigiri (Mashi/Dutsi), Aliyu Ilyasu Ruma(Batsari/Danmusa/Safana) and Abdullahi Balarabe Dabai (Bakori/Danja) defected to the ruling APC during plenary at the lower chamber, last week.
However, in a swift reaction, some of their constituents who spoke to newsmen lampooned the lawmakers insisting that their decision was self-serving.
They constituents claimed that the ruling APC has not done anything worthy of note to the state and its people and wondered why the lawmakers felt comfortable joining the APC.
“The same APC that abandoned the state and it’s people who are being killed on daily basis by bandits with nothing to show in terms of infrastructure development, economic growth and even power supply? These lawmakers have betrayed us and we will pay them back” a resident, Jamilu Sarkin Aiki Dabai, said.
Shortly after the defection, their counterpart for Mashi/Dutsi, Salisu Yusuf Majigiri who is serving his second term at the House of Representatives, appeared on a radio programme where he offered reasons for dumping the opposition PDP.
His response generated serious reaction from constituents most of whom chided him for joining the APC. Some residents of Mashi while responding to the Lawmaker’s interview, accused him of being driven by selfish desires.
“We are facing hardship, hunger and deprivation occassioned by the bad policies of the ruling party. What reason does the Lawmaker has to join APC other than his personal gain?
“He has wasted our votes, betrayed the trust we reposed on him and has shown us clearly that he is not reliable. We will meet again at the polls come 2027” a resident who prefers anonymity said.
The reactions gained traction on continued on social media where over 2000 people who commented on Facebook as at the time of this report , lambasted the Lawmaker whereas 5 people supported his decision to decamp.
Meanwhile an ward official of the ruling PDP who does not want to be mentioned also claimed that party officials were offered N10m and promise of a car while some members were offered N1m and motorcycle to join the ruling APC but all of them rejected the offer.
