By David Wuya ( Nasarawa State correspondent)
Nasarawa State House of Assembly, on Thursday, concluded arrangements to grill the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank Plc for alleged delay in the payment of contractors handling SUBEB projects in the state.
Hon. Daniel Ogazi, the Deputy Majority Leader of the House and Chairman of the House Committee on Education, disclosed this when the management of Nasarawa State Universal Basic Education Board appeared for its 2021 Budget assessment at the Assembly complex.
Hon. Ogazi said the House of Assembly is worried about the number of petitions it has received from contractors handling the SUBEB projects in the state over non-payment of their money after many of them have completed their work and also those whose project work have reached various stages of completion.
Hon. Ogazi said: "Many of the contractors collected loans, some collected personal loan from individuals where they are to pay back 20% interest monthly, aside from the increased cost of construction materials in the market on daily basis.
"Many of these constructions have reached different stages of completion and the work have stopped, and with the raining season now affecting the structures"
"The bank's action has also put the state in bad image before the world, that it is not paying its contractors, not knowing that the fault is from the bank, who, for reasons best known to them, decided to keep our money and are presumably making high profits from it to the detriment of the government and the people of the state.
"It is on this note that we are inviting the MD/CEO of Access Bank to appear before the House of Assembly on Wednesday, September 8, 2021, to explain to us in detail, what is happening with the state's money in their custody.
"We have paid our counterpart funds as a state. The money has been lodged in the bank. So why is the keeping it and unnecessarily subjecting the state and contractors to avoidable hardship?
"We are also directing the Bank to begin payment to those contractors with immediate effect, beginning from today (Thursday, September 2, 2021). It is our money, why are they keeping it, leaving our school structures in bad shape, and now rain the rain is destroying them?
"I want to call on the affected contractors to be patient. The House of Assembly will protect their interest and payment of their money is guaranteed," he said.
Earlier, the Nasarawa State SUBEB Chairman, Mohammed Musa Dan'azumi, had explained in detail the budget performance of the board and its challenges, especially the non-payment of contractors by Access Bank. NNL.
