FCT workers awarding contracts without my knowledge – Wike

The FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has said many of the contracts, said to have been executed by the local contractors who were protesting against debt, were allegedly awarded by civil servants without his knowledge or approval. Speaking on recent media reports and protests over the alleged debts owed to indigenous contractors by the FCTA, the […]

The FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has said many of the contracts, said to have been executed by the local contractors who were protesting against debt, were allegedly awarded by civil servants without his knowledge or approval.

Speaking on recent media reports and protests over the alleged debts owed to indigenous contractors by the FCTA, the minister said no amount of blackmail or intimidation will deter his administration from its core mission.

He challenged those making allegations about unpaid local contractors to produce documentation proving he awarded the contracts, asserting that he will not be pressured to pay for projects he did not approve.

The minister made it clear that the issue was a result of indiscipline and a deeply

entrenched culture of corruption, stressing that many of the contracts were allegedly awarded by civil servants without his knowledge or approval. 

He said the claims of unpaid bills were a manifestation of corruption fighting back against efforts to reform the system and vowed to defeat corruption, adding that it would not be business as usual.

“The problem in this country is that when you want to fight corruption, corruption will

fight you back and it’s corruption that is fighting back and we are going to

defeat corruption.

“The bane of our problem is indiscipline. I came on board to meet complaints that indigenous contractors and local contractors were being owed billions of naira. I said who awarded these contracts. Civil servants stay in their offices and award contracts of various sums without the minister knowing. Then you will be a minister sitting in the office and people will tell you that you are owing N15 billion when you don’t know when it was awarded”, he said.

“Certainly, it will not happen. Nobody can intimidate me on that”, he stressed, adding, “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. We must do things right. That it was not

done right yesterday does not mean it will not be done right today.’’