A group of contractors with the State Universal Basic Education Board SUBEB, Wednesday besieged the premises of the Lokoja branch of Zenith Bank to demand the release of their money allegedly withheld by the branch manager. The contractors numbering a little less than 100, came under the umbrella of the Kogi State Association of Indigenous Contractors.
The Association said they were there to prevail on the Branch Manager, Ayeniba Sam who they alleged has been holding on to their money since December 2015.
The Chairman of the Association, Arome Odeba who spoke on behalf of members said they are appealing to the corporate headquarters of Zenith bank Plc to prevail on Lokoja branch of the bank to pay them for the contracts executed for State Universal Basic Education Board.
He lamented that in the last three weeks SUBEB had prepared payment schedule and sent to the bank for payment, wondering why the manager is reluctant to pay. He expressed displeasure over the manger’s claim that the bank had an internal arrangement which cannot be disclosed to the contractors, saying they have collected loans to finance the projects.
“As contractors we collected loans from banks to execute the contracts, by this unnecessary delay the interest on the loans will be building up and is not healthy to us,” he said. “The contracts we have executed was over N2bn”
When contacted, the SUBEB chairman Alhaji Nuhu Ahmed immediately put a call across to the manager in the presence of journalists. He expressed shock that the contractors’ money has not been paid by the bank even though, he had already signed every voucher to that effect and the money has been dispatched accordingly.
“All the contractors that have executed their jobs, are supposed to have been paid as we have sent their payment schedule to the bank for onward payment into their various account, but I am surprised to hear that they were not paid up till now,” he said.
“In the last two months I have not set my eyes on the manager, how can he claim that I was involved in an internal arrangement with him. I can emphatically say without fear of contradiction that I am not part of any internal arrangement with the bank”
He appealed to the bank to pay the contractors without further delay. Responding, the bank manager Mr Sam who insisted that there was an internal arrangement between the bank and SUBEB, indicated that the contractors cannot get their money this week. Efforts to contact the bank’s corporate headquarters in Lagos proved abortive as repeated calls went unanswered.
-Punch
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