NDDC APPEALS TO CONSTRACTORS TO EXERCISE PATIENCE OVER OUTSTANBDING PAYMERNTS
BY GABRIEL OKECHUKWU, FRCN PORT HARCOURT
The Managing Director Niger Delta Development, NDDC, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku has appealed to contractors to be patient with management as they fashion out ways of settling debts owed over the years.
Dr. Ogbuku who made the appeal during an interactive between NDDC and the contractors at NDDC Headquarters in Port Harcourt, called on them to think on discounting some of the debts to lessen the burden and enable management pay.
The chief Executive Officer acknowledged the unpleasant experiences the contractors have been through and emphasized the importance of taking into cognizance the Project Cycle and the budgeting procedure while awarding contracts.
The MD who gave assurance that the present administration was determined to bring sanity on the payment procedure explained that pending management approval, contractors indebted to, below twenty million naira will soon be paid in batches.
Earlier, the Executive Director Projects, Mr. Charles Ogunmola in his opening address stated that the contractors are partners and there is need to have a common understanding for the agency to move forward.
Mr. Ogumola asserted that the commission is going through a transformation of doing things in a different and appreciable way.
In his Reaction, the Chairman, NDDC Contractors, Mr. Joe Adia while commending the management of NDDC for the interactive, lamented that most of the contractors have been humiliated at different places because of the money they borrowed to execute NDDC projects.
Similarly, another contractor, Mr. Michael Okpe decried the practice of awarding contracts without mobilization which makes it difficult for contractors to execute the projects.
Present at the event were directors and several contractions.
