By Ben Adoga
The FCT Administration made true its the threat of sealing defaulters who are owing to the Administration of waste collection to the tune of N19 Billion.

The Federal Ministry of Works, located in the Mabushi area of the FCT as well as the popular Murg plaza located in Area 10 in the FCT were on Tuesday sealed off.

The exercise which followed a court order authorizing the FCT Administration to seal off defaulters was to enable the Administration to recover the huge sums of money owed the Administration.

Recall that N10 billion was owed to the Administration through services rendered by the Abuja Environmental Protection Board, (AEPB) to various organizations and sister government organizations, ministries, and agencies.

also affected are Merit House, and the Federal Character Commission, among others.

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The exercise started early Tuesday morning with the assistance of heavily armed security personnel drawn from the Police, and Civil Defense Corps, among others.

The Director of the Abuja Environment Protection Board (AEPB), Eng. Osilama Braimah, who doubles as Chairman of the Special Debt Taskforce, in the company of the Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Monitoring Inspection and Enforcement, Comrade Ikharo Attah, led the exercise.

Braimah said government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies were owing to the tune of N10 billion and this, he said, was not acceptable.

He, however, hinted that some ministries were making frantic efforts to pay, while others showed signs of unwillingness to pay.

According to him: “The board got court orders to seal the premises.”

He said the exercise, which has just begun, will cover all public and private offices owing to the board.

A senior Magistrate sitting in Wuse II, Abuja, had served the defendants with a summons to appear before the court on March 30, 2022, but they failed to honor the court.

“The debtors include: Federal Ministry of Works — N9,998,625.00; Federal Ministry of Defence –N17,220,775.00; Federal Character Commission—N10,128,906.25; Federal Civil Service Commission–2,451,649.50; and Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Commission—21,683,750.00.

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“Others are Federal Ministry of Health —N14,204,843.75; Federal Ministry of Trade & Investment—N19,222,287.50; Federal Ministry of Education Hqtrs –N25,838,275; and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps Wuse–N16,583,031.25,” he explained.

However, before going to press, ThisNigeria gathered that the Federal Ministry of Works has been unsealed having responded swiftly to the issue.

Confirming, the Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Monitoring Evaluation and Enforcement, Ikharo Attah who was one of those who led the team to seal the premises said that the Federal Ministry of Works was unsealed because they had paid up their debts.

So far only the Works ministry has complied, other defaulting organizations would equally be sealed while those who comply would be unsealed.