No fewer than 65,000 Nigerian workers have been retrenched by construction companies in the country following the recent situation of the economy.
The firms under the auspices of Federation of Construction Industries (FOCI), announced on Wednesday, November 5, 2015 that they have sacked 65,000 of their over 85,000 workforce, following their inability to meet up with their obligations to them.
According to the firms, their decision was propelled by the recession that has hit the sector, with over N600 billion debt owed its members by the federal, state and local governments.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja, FOCI president, Solomon Ogunbusola, observed that none of the over 135 construction firms loyal to FOCI has been paid since August 2014, even though some of the jobs for which they were being owed had been completed and handed over to the government.
Ogunbusola further disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari ignored a letter written to him in that regard dated September 17, 2015.
He said: “Some of us took loans which we have not been able to pay back and interest is accumulating on the loans daily. This isn’t helping us and that is why we want the government to look into this issue to see how the situation can be salvaged.”
Ogunbusola called on the Buhari-led Federal Government to take immediate actions to save the sector from total collapse.
