Prison Food, Gas Contractors Send SOS To Buhari Over N6bn Debt

Calabar prisonsThe suppliers of food items and cooking gas to prisons across the country have written to President Muhammadu Buhari intimating of the Federal Government’s indebtedness to the tune of over N6 billion.

The suppliers, who came under the aegis of Nigeria Prison Service Ration and Gas Contractors, said they had not been paid for food items and gas supplied to prisons since January, 2015.

In a letter of appeal addressed to Buhari, dated November 13, the association said its members had resorted to taking bank loans with all the accumulative interests and that some of them had disposed of their property to meet up.

The letter was signed by the association’s President S. K Sanni, National Secretary Eugene Agro and National Vice President (North West) Ibrahim A. Asarakawa.

According to the contractors, if they are not paid before the end of November, they would have no money to supply food items and gas to the prisons in December and the consequences of having hungry prisoners can be better imagined.

The letter read in part: “Needless to say that if prisoners and inmates of the nation’s prisons are not fed for two days, they could go hay wire and the consequences are not good to imagine. We don’t want any national embarrassment for Mr. President and his new government.

“We are therefore appealing to the Commander-In-Chief to mobilise funds from anywhere to settle our bill before it is too late, knowing that top on his priority is security. We have endured long enough”.