From Emma Ogoigbe, Warri
Contractors of Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC) Limited, Ekpan, Delta State, have cried out over non-payment of contracts they said they executed since 2024.
The contractors are particularly irked that the said jobs were executed according to given specifications and allegedly certified by the refinery authorities as duly and successfully completed.
In the wake of the situation they now find themselves, the contractors have vowed to embark on a huge peaceful protest over the hardship they claim WRPC management foisted on them.
Though they did not disclose how much the claimed debt stock is, People&Politics gathered that the amount runs into billions of Naira.
In a Save Our Soul (SOS) message to the authorities, a copy of which was made available to People& People, the contractors cited past moves they made to get paid — allegedly to no avail.
According to them, they appealed several times to the supervisory Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari, and the Refinery Coordinator, Engr. Bayo Adenrele, to release funds to pay them for jobs “well executed.”
Painting a picture of the harrowing experiences and dire socio-economic impact of the non-payment on their individual homes and family life, they stated: “Sadly, the failure of payment is having negative impact on the contractors who borrowed money to execute the various contracts done.
“Above all, it is having negative effect on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda that is working perfectively for the nation.”
They reminded Engr. Aderenle that banking institutions do not fund contracts from WRPC, pointing out that “yet, we went extra miles to source for fund for the execution of these contracts.
“Our financiers are no longer comfortable with us and are threatening to sell our properties, which we used as collaterals since our post-dated cheques issued have rolled over severally.”
Consequently, the aggrieved contractors urged the refinery leadership to pay up and save them from the embarrassment of inability to pay their children’s school fees as most of the latter are now out of school, even as further delay may cause them more financial loss and depression.
Effort made by our correspondent to get the reaction of WRPC management to the matter proved abortive as they were said to be holding a meeting.
