November 02, (THEWILL) – Ebonyi State government, on Wednesday, challenged a contractor to prove its claims that it was owing, instead of resorting to blackmail.
The Commissioner for Information and State Orientation in the state, Jude Okpor, stated this while reacting to a social media publication by the contractor popularly known as Jean-Philips company, against the state government on the alleged debt.
In the said publication against the Ebonyi State government, Okpor said the contractor accused the government of refusing to pay him 15% balance of a supposedly executed total contract sum of N68,800,000 million, which he entered with the previous administration in the state.
“Without attempting to join issues in public domain with the said contractor, it is pertinent that we set the record straight for the benefit of the reading public.
“First, the contractor, Ifeanyi should realise that the present administration in the state was not privy to the contractual agreement, and as a new administration, it is still in the process of verifying the veracity of many claims before it.
“If Ifeanyi’s balance is among those inherited from the previous administration, he needed to have exercised due patience in following the right official procedures and proper administrative channels rather than taking to the social media.
Secondly, Ifeanyi’s reference to his non indigeneship of the state as the reason for his alleged, self-conceived oppression by the State Government betrays his ill intentions and overt mischief in the writing on the supposed transaction.
“If the business is transacted on tribal basis, why should the State Government give him the contract in the first place when many Ebonyians could have rendered the services?
“Ifeanyi should have asked to be cleared that the many inherited bills before the new administration do not take into cognisance the origin of the supposed beneficiaries, and as such, Ifeanyi should appreciate the fact that he is not the only one allegedly being owed by the State Government.
“The State government in line with its fiscal responsibility and public interest spending will definitely do justice to all claims which their authenticity are eventually established by due processes and necessary investigations. These may include Ifeanyi’s claims.
“Moreover, we wish to state that many contractors like Ifeanyi, most of whom are indigenes of other states, including Anambra, whose claims have been completely verified and authenticated through the contracting ministries and agencies of government have started receiving their claims.
“We, therefore, wish to employ this medium to advise Ifeanyi to approach the government through the Ministry of Aviation with all relevant documents to justify his claims rather than resorting to cheap blackmail.
“Once his claims are verified in line with established processes, he would be paid like others in his shoes who have started receiving theirs”, he stated.
Sunday Ogbu is a professional journalist with eight - twelve years experience that had worked with various print and online media. Sunday specializes in news reporting with the aim of educating his readers on current social, political and economic occurences within his area of coverage. Sunday is a strong force to work with in the media industry and uses his positive attitude and tireless energy to encourage others to work hard and succeed. Sunday is inspired daily by his wife and their four children. In his free time, Sunday likes sight-seeing, reading and discussing issues of societal interest.
