By Christiana Ekpa
The House of Representatives on Thursday resolved to investigate the immediate and remote causes of the failure of the Federal Government to pay contractors working with Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) since 2024.
The House resolved to invite Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Alhaji Abubakar Bagudu; Accountant-General of the Federation, Babatunde Ogun Jimi; Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Yemi Cardoso and Auditor-General of the Federation, Mr. Shaakaa Chira and any other relevant officials.
They are expected to appear before the House of Representatives on Tuesday, 13th May, 2025 to explain the reasons for the non-payment of contractors and provide a clear timeline for settling all outstanding verified payments:
The resolution was passed sequel to the adoption of a motion under urgent national importance, sponsored by Hon. Nnamdi Ezechi, who solicited the House’s intervention.
In his lead debate, Ezechi observed with grave concern that contractors across all the MDAs “have not received payment for certified work completed since October 2024, despite budgetary provisions for capital projects in the 2024 Appropriation Act.
“The House further notes that budget releases under the 2024 financial year to MDAs remain below 50 per cent, resulting in widespread project abandonment, financial distress among contractors, and an overall negative impact on the economy.
“The House is aware that the non-payment has severely hindered the implementation of critical constituency projects, undermined public confidence in government delivery, and weakened investor trust in the nation’s infrastructure sector.
“The House is concerned that the delay in payment to contractors has resulted in job losses, stalling of infrastructure development, and disruptions to community-based projects across the Federation.
“The House is further concerned that the situation, if left unchecked, could lead to mass protests, legal disputes, and complete paralysis of public projects.”
Also speaking, former Deputy Speaker, Hon. Idris Wase, who expressed displeasure over the abandonment of projects across the country as a result of prolonged delay in the payment of contractors, emphasised the imperatives of mobilising funds for contractors in order to finish all ongoing projects.
On his part, Hon. Ibrahim Isiaka identified the failure of disbursement of funds to contractors as one of the plethora of problems retarding projects completion in the country.
In the same vein, the House mandated the joint Committees on Public Accounts and the House Committee on Budget and Economic Planning to conduct a joint inquiry into the systemic failure to disburse funds for contractor payments.
The joint Committees is also expected to investigate accountability lapses at MDAs responsible for processing payments and report back to the House within four weeks with findings and recommendations for remedial legislative action.
In the bid to remove all encumbrances, the lawmakers urged the Executive to take immediate administrative measures to clear all outstanding debts owed to contractors; institute a transparent payment mechanism for contractor claims to prevent recurrence of delay and ensure that future budgetary releases for capital projects are disbursed promptly to safeguard jobs and restore confidence in government project delivery.
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