NDDC sues for calm over delayed payment to contractors

Port Harcourt -- The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has appealed to its contractors for patience, saying it was addressing the challenges delaying their outstanding payments.

It also expressed regrets that contractors who had completed their jobs were yet to be paid, but affirmed that a committee had been set up to streamline the payment of all verifiable outstanding debts.

Chairman of the governing board of the NDDC, Mrs. Lauretta Onochie, addressing a delegation from the NDDC Contractors’Association at the commission's headquarters in Port Harcourt, told the contractors that their support and cooperation were necessary in resolving the challenges.

"One of the first things we did as a board when we assumed office was to look for means to address the issue of unpaid bills. Please, be patient with us. Give us a little more time to do our house cleaning.

"You will not be neglected henceforth. You are our partners in the development process. As partners in the development of the Niger Delta region, we need your cooperation," she said.

Onochie commended the persistence of the leadership of the contractors’ association in fighting for their members.

“When I hear about the backlog of debts to contractors, I get disturbed. It is only fair that contractors who have done their jobs get paid for them. We have set up a committee to work out modalities for paying the contractors.

“We need the support of all stakeholders to make the NDDC work in the best interest of the people. Our mission is to ensure that the development of the Niger Delta region is sustained,” Onochie stated

Earlier, the chairman, NDDC Contractors Association, Mr. Joe

Adia, said as critical stakeholders in the development of Nigeria’s oil-rich region, the contractors’ association would do whatever was necessary to assist the commission ensure that all monies owed NDDC were paid.

“We are happy that a new board has taken off. Before now, the contractors were having a rough time. We believe that the coming of the new board will bring changes to the NDDC. We are ready and eager to partner with NDDC,” he said.