The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has reacted to allegations from local contractors accusing him of owing them billions of naira.
TIME.I.NG reports that the indigenous contractors had alleged that the minister awarded them contracts and refused to pay them.
However, speaking on Tuesday during the commissioning of the completely rehabilitated Phase 2 Water Treatment Plant at Lower Usuma Dam, in Ushafa, Bwari Area Council, Wike declared that he would not be intimidated or distracted from focusing on his duties.
Wike blamed civil servants for the situation, accusing them of awarding some of the contracts from their offices.
He said: “Let me use this opportunity to tell Nigerians that no amount of blackmail will stop us from being focused.
“All through yesterday and today, I have been watching Channels Television and they are focusing on some local contractors and I will never be intimidated, let anybody who says that I awarded contracts to bring the documents to show how I awarded the contracts.”
He described the demonstration staged by the contractors as corruption fighting back.
Wike said: “The problem with this country is that when you want to fight corruption, corruption will fight you back, and it’s corruption that is fighting back, which we are going to defeat.
“The bane of our problem is indiscipline, I came on board with the Minister of State with complaints that people, local and indigenous contractors are being owed ₦5 billion, ₦8 billion and I said who are those that awarded these contracts?
“Do you know what happened? Civil servants stay in their offices and award contracts of ₦15 million, ₦10 million, ₦20 million without the minister knowing and you will hear the minister sitting in the office and people will tell you that you are owing ₦15 billion when you don’t know when it was awarded. Certainly, it will not happen.”
Wike challenged the contractors to provide evidence of the jobs they did to warrant their demands for payment.
The Minister disclosed that he only awards contracts when the FCT Administration has money to fund the project.
“Let heaven come down, nobody can intimidate me on that. Let them show me the job that they are saying we are commissioning, whether all the roads we have done were commissioned by indigenous contractors. If you see the faces of those people, do they look like contractors?
“Those who awarded the contracts to themselves are bringing those people to come, they would continue to demonstrate, if they like they should go to the British embassy and sleep there, I will never feel perturbed.
“If I award contracts, I will pay and those who know me know that I don’t award contracts when we don’t have money,” he added.
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