By Abdulwahab Abdulah

LAGOS—The contractors engaged by the management of the Nigerian Navy Secondary School, NNSS, Ojo, Lagos State, to supply construction materials worth over N30 million, have cried foul over how they were persuaded to make the supply without payment.

The contractors, who besieged Vanguard Media Ltd’s premises on an SOS mission, said they were engaged to supply construction materials, among which are  gravel and sand,  for a building of a sport complex for the school.

Narrating their plights over the unpaid debts, the contractors argued that all efforts to get the school management to pay them earned them death threats.

According to the contractors, speaking through Mr. Idowu Adeniyi, they had petitioned the Minister of Defence, adding that  the Navy authorities and the company engaged to handle the project issued dud cheques of about N31 million.

In the petition by their lawyer, Femi Falana and Co., addressed to the Minister of Defence, they urged the minister to investigate the  contract  and the alleged issuance of the dud cheques.

They said trouble started last year when the authorities of the Navy school, Ojo, gave out different Local Purchasing Order, LPO, to some contractors to supply various building materials for the construction of a football and race pitch through a company allegedly jointly owned by the Deputy Commandant of NNSS, Ojo.

They claimed that “ one of the LPOs given to Albert Matilda Ltd dated March, 2, 2015 showed that a contract of N18.2 million for supply of building materials was awarded to the company and others.”

The contractors said after the award to different contractors, several materials worth millions of Naira were supplied towards actualising the contract.