Contractors threaten to drag ministry before anti-graft agency

Contractors threaten to drag ministry before anti-graft agency

Contractors who executed the year 2017 appropriated capital projects towards food security may have concluded plans to take the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) to any of the anti-graft agencies for investigations into why their monies for jobs completed since have not been paid. A source close to the affected contractors told Food Farm News.

The source who spoke on condition of anonymity told Food Farm News that the contractors have threatened to invite Independent Corrupt Practices and related offences Commission (ICPC) or Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) into the matter so as to be able to ascertain why an appropriated capital project that have been duly completed and delivered have not been paid for over a year later  when  procurement law says that jobs should be paid for within six months.

He said the contractors, many of whom have lost their workers to inability to pay salaries, are already putting their heads together towards documents and other materials they are going to present that will enhance meaningful investigation by any of the anti-graft agencies they finally decide to approach.

Another source close to the ministry told Food Farm News on the condition of anonymity that all capital projects are always appropriated with fund so as to ensure prompt payment as soon as jobs are completed, and that for the non-payment to have taken this long was a thing of concern that deserved scrutiny so as to checkmate any discrepancy of any sort.

Another source said in confidence that a thorough auditing has been conducted which reflected some questionable areas that need to be clarified by the Director of Finance and Accounts in the ministry, former permanent secretary and the main minister, Chief Audu Ogbeh since the new Permanent Secretary who assumed duties last September 29,   has insisted on not authorizing any payment until proper auditing is done.

Food Farm News gathered that the contractors are already running out of patience and that one of their demands would be to compel the ministry to be the party to pay interest incurred on loan by contractors.    

The contractors alleged that since the arrival of the new Permanent Secretary (PS), the activity towards payment has been put on hold even as new jobs were still being issued.

They also complained that the management under the former PS has effected payment for jobs below five million naira of which they, (the officials) were the beneficiaries, leaving them (the contractors) unattended to since the arrival of the new permanent secretary.

A management source in the ministry confirmed that the ministry is owing some contractors of which it has not been able to pay due paucity of funds.

When confronted that the jobs awarded were supposed to have cash backing before being awarded, going by procurement law, he said that may not be true because payments for jobs in the last five years has been affected due to low release of funds.

He affirmed that on the average only 52 percent of the budget has always been released to the ministry in the last five years and that efforts are going on to ensure payment as soon as funds are released. Both the PS and the minister were not on seat as at time of filing this story.