Yemisi Izuora
Some local contractors who executed a number of projects for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Universal Basic Education Board (UBEB) have expressed deep apprehension over the prejudiced procedures applied in effecting payment for the jobs they carried out.
They accused the chairman of the board, Alhaji Umaru Barau Ningi for being selective and often times indifferent towards payment of jobs executed by them.
The contractor who will not want to be named regretted that most of the jobs executed by them in the last two years are yet to be paid by UBEB under the chairmanship of Alhaji Ningi
Most of the contracts were funded through counterpart funds under the Special grants projects and were therefore shocked that these contracts are yet to be paid for. The contractors noted that this is the first time in the history of UBEB that contracts were awarded without the necessary cash backing for its prompt payment.
The contractors are regretting that in spite of the fact that most of them got the contract by “buying” as much as 25 per cent of the contract sum, their monies are yet to be paid by FCT UBEB.
The Contractors alleged that the Chairman is collaborating with a finance company based in Wuse II district of Abuja to convert the funds meant for the payment of jobs for his personal use.
According to the contractors, the chairman is busy awarding new contracts to companies with strong ties to him and using the funds meant for the payment for earlier jobs to settle the new contracts.
The concerned contractors are also alleging that most of the new contracts he is awarding are never executed as the monies are diverted to his accounts.
The contractors also stated that they have the records of the contractors the Chairman was using to siphon funds for jobs not executed and promised to make them public at the appropriate time.
The contractors said that the Chairman refused to grant audience to the association of local contractors who had sought his explanation on the delay in the payment of jobs executed by the local contractors.
The contractors further alleged that the FCT UBEB Chairman later invited the Exco of the local contractors where he not only “settled them” but also explained that the non-payment for jobs done were as a result of the fact that money was diverted by top officials of the FCT for campaign purposes.