The Coalition of the Niger Delta Development Commission Registered Contractors (CNDDCRC) has cautioned the management of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) alleged favoritism, contract inflation/duplication and uncompleted projects at the Commission.
The Coalition also urged the NDDC management to restore trust, balance and integrity in its contractor payment system.
The registered contractors were reacting to the plans by the Commission to disburse a 40% mobilisation payment to a select group of contractors in the coming weeks.
A statement released Friday in Abuja and signed by the Coalition’s coordinator, Chief Amaechi Jones, said proper vetting processes, due diligence audits and increased transparency measures should precede any mass payments of this scale.
According to Jones, clear communication on payment terms, sequence and requirements must also be provided to all registered NDDC vendors.
The statement said: “The Coalition of Niger Delta Development Commission Registered Contractors (CNDDCRC) has become aware of plans to disburse a 40% mobilisation payment to a select group of contractors in the coming weeks.
“While we support the clearing of legitimate debts owed to long-suffering contractors who have yet to be fully compensated for work done, we urge extreme caution given past abuse and mismanagement issues at the NDDC.
There remain allegations of favoritism, contract inflation/duplication and uncompleted projects at the NDDC over the years which we are sure the current management will tackle. As major stakeholders, contractors have also suffered from uneven treatment, blacklisting threats and delayed compensation that has crippled many businesses.
“We believe a comprehensive, corruption-free settlement of these complex contractual debts is overdue. However, the renewed 40% mobilization proposal requires much more clarification before funds get disbursed on a discretionary basis.
“Which contractors stand to benefit first? What is the payment process and schedule moving forward? How will overpaid or duplicate contracts get reconciled? These are some unanswered questions.”
