Date: 2019-11-07

The indigenous contractors association in Kwara State have called on the state Governor, Alhaji AbdulRahaman AbdulRasaq to give their members preferential treatment when considering contractors to engage for capital projects by his administration.

Speaking with journalists in Ilorin, the state chairman of the association, Mr. Mashood Aigoro, said members of the association possesses necessary skills and exposure in the handling of any contracts that would be given to them.

He said their non-patronage by successive governments in the state was due to not having up to date papers.

Aigoro said: "Immediate past administration in the state was known for giving out contract only to their cronies from outside the state because of the dirty deals they were using them for and as result we could not bother to update our papers with the state government, since it cost huge amount of money."

He added that: "For now we have all the necessary equipment and skills to handle and deliver any kind of project given to us, ranging from roads, building, electrical, water and many more to the standard.

"We believe that if government really wants to help us, they can be removing all the charges for our company papers from the source before paying us for any work done."

The association said they were ready to support government of AbdulRahman to succeed in all ramifications because they are more than 18,000 registered members. He further noted that empowering them through their handiwork was like empowering all the households in the state, adding that their membership cut across every part of the state.

"The real poverty alleviation of this government can begin with us because many households would be touch positively when we start getting patronage of government and the money made will surely reinvest in the state and boost the state economy," he stated.

The association also noted that their members have decided to vote against the immediate past administration in the state and their political leaders, "because of how they were duped their members through deceit of paying for tender fee for work they knew it was not going to give to them."

Aigoro, warned the state governor to be wary of remnants of past administration still working in his government either as civil servants or political appointees, stating that they have identified some with people with a purpose to create enemies for his government like they did for past administration.

"We need to called on the attention of our beloved governor to the move of the permanent Secretary, state ministry of works and transport, Engineer Yusuf Manjo on how he doing everything to scheme out the indigenous contractors from benefiting in the projects his administration is about to do"

"Engineer Manjo has started giving some outrageous conditions again targeted at us 'Indigenous contractors' since he failed to edge us out through tender fee, and we want governor to call him to order just the way he did recently"

Meanwhile, the association added that their water engineering members have discovered another way of getting water to a larger society from a particular spot instead of indiscriminate digging of Boreholes that might cause disaster in the future.