Ministry contractors cry for job payment

Chief Audu Ogbeh, Minister of Agriculture

Contractors who worked for Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) towards ensuring efficient commercial agriculture and food security have appealed to the management to save them from untimely death by paying their long overdue debts owed them just as one of them has been reported dead.

A source at the ministry, who spoke on condition of anonymity said since all capital projects had been appropriated with fund so as to ensure payment as soon as the job was completed, so the question of no payment should not in any way arise except it was intentional.

 But contrary to this principle, said another source, the new Permanent Secretary (PS) has issued an instruction that no money should be paid for no justification. Another source added that it was as a result of personal interest, because even though all other papers had been vetted for the sake of transparency and have been well audited and given to him for payment to commence, still, no action had been effected even after almost nine months of job execution.

Some of the affected contractors told food farm news that many of them borrowed money from micro finance banks (known for their high interest rates) to complete the jobs hoping payment would be made immediately following the principle of procurement law that stipulated payment within six months adding that they are already thinking of the steps to be taken against the ministry for payment to be effected.

They also accused ministry management of effecting payment to projects below five million naira saying this was due to vested interest within the departments as many capital projects were split into fractions (with the civil servants awarding same to themselves) so as to enable easy payment among themselves even as many jobs were not done, and thereby leaving real contractors to face interest challenges.

 But meanwhile they have passionately plea for their payment so as to save so many other souls that are attached to it.