Okwe Obi, Abuja
Nigeria Civil Service Union, has waded into the crisis between the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sabo Nanono and contractors over N17 billion debt for amicable resolution.
Union Chairman, Leon Esebanme, while addressing newsmen yesterday in Abuja, said the intervention became expedient following incessant protests at the ministry which he maintained was becoming embarrassing and distracting.
Recall that contractors under the aegis of Concerned Unpaid 2018 Contractors had shut down the premises and accused Nanono and his Permanent Secretary, Mu’azu Abdulkakir, of paying fake contractors.
A contractor, Chidi Kanu, also alleged that the Ministry had refused to pay because his colleagues did not agree to give out 15 percentage to key officers of the Ministry. But, Esebanme, aside, appealing for calm, noted that some of the executed projects were not contracted by the present administration.
“We want to effect a dialogue that can necessitate a roundtable discussion and everybody will be carried along in the payment process.
“This is the final debt of 2019 owed by the ministry so that the contractors will continue to do business with us without fear.
To make sure that those who have borrowed money can pay back. “We know the constraints they are passing through. That is why we are begging. Our major focus here is understanding. Our next line of action is to push so that the management can ensure that these monies are released from the high authority,” he said.