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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
President Bola Tinubu has expressed dissatisfaction over the persistent backlog of payments owed to federal contractors, estimated at about N1.5 trillion, and has constituted a high-level multi-ministerial committee to address the crisis.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed that the President was upset after learning that more than 2,000 contractors, many of whom are indigenous, remained unpaid for completed projects. The backlog had caused significant financial hardships for contractors, including debts, asset seizures, unpaid wages and even health crises.
The President received a briefing from the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Adebowale Adedokun, detailing the magnitude of outstanding obligations.
In response, he set up a committee, comprising key government officials charged with developing a clear plan to release the outstanding funds promptly.
The committee members are Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu; Director-General of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu; Minister of Works, Dave Umahi; Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa and Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Zacch Adedeji.
The committee has been given a mandate to urgently review the payment delays, identify funding sources and report back to the President with viable solutions.
Onanuga disclosed that President Tinubu emphasised the need for swift action and indicated that the government was open to borrowing, as a sovereign state, to settle verified contractor debts if necessary.
“All of them are supposed to sit down, develop a plan as a committee and then go to the President to tell him the solution they have found in allocating funds to pay contractors,” he said.
He added that the President was determined to “find the money and fix the problem,” even hinting that the government could borrow to settle verified obligations if necessary.
“He even said that, as a sovereign country, we can go and borrow to pay those contractors,” the presidential aide noted.
This development followed mounting pressures from the contractors, including the Concerned Contractors Owed by the Federal Government of Nigeria 2024 Capital Projects, who have appealed to the President and National Assembly for urgent intervention. The contractors decried the financial and emotional toll of the payment delays, describing the situation as unjust and inhuman.
The backlog has been attributed to overlapping budget years and financing challenges. The Ministry of Works earlier acknowledged the backlog and conducted a verification exercise earlier this year. Meanwhile, the National Assembly recently approved additional borrowing to cover financing gaps, complemented by the government’s international bond issuance.
At a press conference, the contractors under the umbrella of ‘Concerned Contractors Owed by the Federal Government of Nigeria 2024 Capital Projects,’ had appealed to President Tinubu and the National Assembly for urgent intervention on unpaid funds for completed projects overdue by over nine months.
Convener, Jackson Nwosu and co-signatories, Secretary, RQS MIQS, Babatunde Seun, Peter Adhekugu, Chidi Kanu and O.F. Agada, decried the dire hardships, including debts, asset seizures, unpaid wages, health crises, deaths and suicides.
Nwosu said: “Contractors are drowning in debt. This delay is not only unjust, it is also inhuman.”
They cited violations of the Public Procurement Act (2007) mandating budgetary provisions and urging transparency for national development.
