Some contractors under the aegis Contractors Association of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) on Monday converged at the commission’s headquarters in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, in protest against the 10-year debts owed them by the agency.
According to reports, the protesters, who barricaded the gate of the commission’s office, with placards in hand, said the commission owed them over 2 trillion naira for jobs they executed.
Chairman of the association, Joe Adia, who spoke to journalists, explained that the situation had caused them untold hardship.
According to him, “The point is that there must be an end to this evil. They owe us over N2tn for 10 years. We are saying that today will be the last time the NDDC will keep short-changing the destinies of contractors in the commission.
“They owe us, and we are here. We want them to pay us, and we want them to constitute a board. Is there anything wrong with this commission? One man running this commission does not make sense. They should come and inaugurate the board.
“And how can contractors survive? They are dying because, for 10 years, they are being owed. Even little ticket jobs of N5m, they still owe till today, which means they are not interested in paying the contractors.
Adia noted that the protest would continue until the commission fulfilled its financial obligations to them.
“This protest will continue because we are victims, and we have to say we do not want to die for the business we have. They have to pay us our money,” he added.
