Court Evicts Ministry workers over N7m Debt in Calabar [photos]

At least 40 Ministry workers, properties worth millions of naira were on Friday thrown out of offices in Calabar, as a court bailiff carried out an eviction order in the Cross River State Office of the Federal Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs while it was still raining, following N7m rent the owner of the building located at Parliamentary Road in the state capital was allegedly being owed.

It was gathered that some of the properties thrown out in the disgraceful scene include television sets, printers, computers, air conditioners, documents and other vital office equipment were left unprotected in the rain.

An unidentified bailiff from a magistrate’s court in Calabar, who carried out the exercise as early as 8 am, said the court order was carried out because of the failure of the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja to pay rents over the years.

The bailiff carried out the eviction order in the presence of security agents despite the downpour.

He said, “We never anticipated that there would be rainfall. We had no option but to carry out the court order because the tenants defaulted. They could not dispute the fact that they owed over N7m rent for some years now and they have not shown any seriousness in offsetting the bill; that was why this order was sought.”

Punch reports that effort to speak with the coordinator in charge of the state office of the ministry, Mr. Francis Ukpo, proved abortive as he was said to have gone to the federal secretariat along the Murtala Mohammed Highway to secure another office accommodation.

But an aggrieved member of staff, who was drenched, lamented that running costs for state offices were being paid into private accounts instead of the office's account.

“There are a lot of sharp practices taking place in the ministry. We have been having issues in the running of state offices lately. You cannot imagine that running costs for state offices are being paid into private accounts.”