The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has said that they have not paid contractors working for the Commission because the Federal Government owes the Commission over N1.9 trillion.
This follows the protest at the NDDC headquarters by some contract staff of the Commission, who lamented the negligence of the Commission to pay them for the projects they have executed in the region.
Reacting to the claims by contractors, the Interim Administrator of the Commission, Mr Effiong Akwa, who spoke with journalists on Wednesday, said oil companies were 2.2 trillion naira indebted to the Commission.
Akwa explained that the Commission could not pay the contractors due to trillions of naira owed the Commission by the federal government and oil companies.
He also stated that the bulk of the indebtedness was inherited from past administrations in the Commission, adding that he was saddened that contractors who had done their jobs were still being owed many years after completion.
The administrator, however, pledged to settle all verified outstanding claims as soon as the Commission reconciled its account.
“The Interim Administrator is not happy that contractors who had completed their jobs were yet to be paid. There is no reason to owe these contractors except the fact that enough funds have not been released to NDDC to take care of the debt.
“Federal Government was owing to the Commission over N1.9 trillion, while the oil companies owed in excess of $4billion (about N2.2 trillion). This huge indebtedness to NDDC is far in excess of what the Commission owes its contractors and has exposed us to this kind of situation”.
Speaking further, he maintained that President Buhari had set up a reconciliation committee headed by the Minister of Finance to ensure the reconciliation of the commission’s accounts.
“The Interim Administrator is working tirelessly to pay outstanding debts and calls for calm and patience from all aggrieved contractors and service providers.”
