*Minister’s Political Appointees Duly Awarded Contracts Genuinely In Consonance With FG’s Servicewide Circulars -Documents Show
*Mum’s The Word From Minister’s Camp
By Felix Durumbah, Abuja
Security details suspected to be working with Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barrister Nyesom Wike, today fired teargas at protesting contractors peacefully demanding for payment of reportedly executed jobs debt overhang estimated at about N5.2billion.
From as early as 10:00am, the contractors, under their umbrella Association of Indigenous Contractors of FCT, converged on the main entrance leading into FCT Administration (FCTA) headquarters located on 1 Kapital Road, Area 11, Garki, Abuja.
About 45 minutes after the protest kicked off, a security detail, said to be a junior policeman serving under Mohammed Iya, the Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the Minister, fired the first teargas canister, immediately followed by a second and others indiscriminately, with fumes spiralling and engulfing the entrance area.
The development drew sprints by many of the protesters, civil servants reporting for work, passersby and other people, sparking full blown stampede in the axis.
People&Politics which was in the general area, witnessed many persons running helter skelter, some leaving their footwear behind.
A number of vehicles screeched and reversed suddenly as drivers and others beat a retreat to flee the scene of chaos.
A physically impaired man, who identified himself simply as Ahmed, later told People&Politics how the teargas affected him.
“Can you imagine! I’m 75 years old this year and was just passing by when the police started shooting teargas into the roundabout near the Minister’s entrance, where the protesters were.
“Am I a contractor? Teargas does not know any particular person. I’m sick for sometime now and the teargas fumes filled my nose. My health can only get worse now.
“Wike should pay these people their money. Is it from his personal pocket he’ll pay? Pay them please and save us incidents like this teargas today,” he disclosed, almost in tears.
It was not the first time the contractors were protesting over the unpaid debt for jobs they said were awarded, properly procured, monitored, verified and executed mostly in the life of the Wike administration since 2023. It was also not the first time they were being teargassed at same spot during a protest over same reason: non-payment of contracts.
According to them, the jobs were for public welfare projects such as supply of office furniture, desilting of road drainages, supply of needed items in various sectors of human need for FCT residents.
The situation in the protest area was still tense, today, when Wike, in a convoy of at least eight state-of-the-art vehicles, comprising mostly Lexus and Toyota SUVs, zoomed out from inside FCTA headquarters to an unknown destination outside.
As the pilot motorcycle signalling his imminent exit sounded its siren, the contractors strained to move forward with their banners and posters to get the Minister’s attention to their plight,but were visibly only partially successful as the heavily armed security men on ground restrained them, resulting in plenty of pushing and shoving.
Speaking later, Chairman of the contractors’ group, Mr Adebola Benson Ehuwa, deplored the Minister’s action in not paying them for three years now.
According to him, contrary to the Minister’s public assertion in a recent media interview that the said contracts were awarded by civil servants, nothing could be farther from reality.
Brandishing a sheaf of documents pertaining to award, approval and legal agreements for the jobs, he said the jobs were given by Wike’s political appointees in the Minister’s name, an action, he continued, was lawful in consonance with relevant Federal Government (FG) circulars.
He displayed two of the extant circulars, including one dated 19 January 2022 and signed by then Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, and updated in 2025 by current SGF, George Akume, empowering such listed appointees and the monetary thresholds, on contracts’ award on behalf of their principals.
In the case of FCTA, such contracts were awarded by Mandate Secretaries and Coordinators including Coordinator, Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), Felix Obuah; Mandate Secretary, Health and Human Services Secretariat, Dr Dolapo Fasawe; and others.
Ehuwa tendered to newsmen written proofs of sample awards, approvals and legal agreements.
In one such legal agreement, sighted by People&Politics, stamped 6 June 2024, Obuah signed on a contract agreement witnessed “in the presence of” Adebayo A.Z, an Acting Director in FCT Fire Service.
Apparently unbent by the teargas saga, Ehuwa vowed that the contractors will continue protesting this time “till we get paid by Wike.”
Calls put through by People&Politics to spokesman of the Minister, Mr Lere Olayinka, went unanswered.
Also, a WhatsApp post to his usual number was not responded to as of press time.
*PHOTO CAPTION: Some of the protesting contractors… today.
