Contractors, who handled different projects at the Police Staff College, Jos, Plateau State, have appealed to the Federal Government to release the funds they expended on the projects.
The contractors said they were contracted by the Federal Government to execute building in the college in 2010 and part payment was made in 2014, but since then, they had not been paid the balance.
Speaking on behalf of the contractors in Akure, Ondo State, on Thursday, Alhaji Lasisi Isola, said they had written several letters to the Ministry of Police Affairs, the Inspector-General of Police and the police consultant on the need to pay them the money they expended on the project, but there had been no positive response.
According to him, the contractors spent millions of naira from their personal purse to execute the project, but they have not been fully paid.
Isola said, “The project was awarded to us in 2010 and the Federal Government paid part of the money in 2014, but since then, we have not got anything from the government. Some of us have died over the unpaid loans obtained from banks to execute the project for the Federal Government.
“It will not be in the interest of the people, who borrowed money from financial institutions, to finance projects and not to get paid after such had been executed.
“The buildings are in different stages of completion and it will be a disservice to the government to abandon them after funds have been committed to the government. We have written several letters to those concerned, but we have yet to get any fruitful response.
“So, we are appealing to the Federal Government to pay us so that we will have money to offset the loans obtained from banks and we will be saved from unnecessary embarrassment by the financial institutions.”
He pleaded with the Federal Government and the IG, Usman Baba, to come to their aid by paying up.
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