Exclusive: Julius Berger Abandons National Assembly Maintenance over Huge Debts

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News Tuesday, April 21st, 2015

Ayodele Afolabi, Abuja. – A foremost construction company, Julius Berger has abandoned its maintenance job due to failure of the National Assembly to pay the N 10 billion accumulated debt it owed the company.

A source in the National Assembly who pleaded anonymity told our correspondent that the maintenance staff were the one doing skeletal work to keep the Assembly complex going.

The source said that Berger was saddled with the maintenance of all the infrastructural facilities in the entire Assembly including lightening, plumbing, the sewage lines, the AC cooling systems as well as electricity.

“Most of these equipment can only be maintained by them because our staff in the Assembly lack the technical know-how to deal with them.

“Don’t forget that Berger constructed and furnished the structures housing the offices of the Senators and the Reps members and they have been in charge of the maintenance since they constructed it,” the source lamented.

However a senior officer who commented on the issue but pleaded not to be mentioned said that it was true that Berger left the maintenance job but doubt if the amount being quoted was correct.

He however allayed fear over whether the absence of Berger could affect the running of the National Assembly complex.

He added that “as I speak to you, there are other companies undertaking maintenance activities at the National Assembly.

“The issue of indebtedness is not peculiar to the National Assembly, there agencies in other arms that are heavily indebted to some utility companies, so there is nothing strange in this,” he said.