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•Threaten protest over skewed framework
From Okwe Obi, Abuja
The Association of Indigenous Contractors of Nigeria (AICAN), North Central Zone, has expressed displeasure over what it termed “uneven payment structure” to indebted contractors by the federal government.
AICAN lamented that it is unable to determine the beneficiaries of the N700 billion reportedly paid to contractors by the federal government, when original contractors wallow in poverty and huge debt.
While addressing journalists yesterday in Abuja, its representative, Oguneme Romanus Uchenna, called on the government to be transparent and include genuine contractors in the payment plan.
Uchenna warned that its members may resume protests if concerns over the disbursement process are not addressed.
“We note the recent statement by the Minister of Finance that the sum of N700 billion has been paid to contractors. However, we are unable to ascertain the beneficiaries of this payment,” he said.
According to him, several members of the association who executed government projects are yet to receive payment, prompting calls for a more transparent process.
He said: “There are verifiable cases where genuine members of our registered association have not received payment. This raises fundamental questions of accountability and transparency in the disbursement process.”
He urged the Ministry of Finance to ensure that all eligible contractors benefit from ongoing payments without discrimination.
He said AICAN had written several letters to the Minister of Finance and copied the Accountant-General of the Federation, seeking a fair and inclusive payment framework, without a favourable response.
“The Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu clearly committed to addressing the backlog of debts owed to Federal Government contractors.
“In line with this commitment, we have forwarded several correspondences to the Honourable Minister of Finance to ensure that all contractors benefit without discrimination,” he said.
He proposed a categorised payment structure based on contract value, arguing that such an arrangement would ensure fairness and protect smaller contractors from being disadvantaged.
He said: “We reiterate our call for the payment of all contractors without recourse to any selective list. For equity and fairness, payments should be categorised by contract value to accommodate both small-scale and large-scale contractors.”
He suggested that under the proposed arrangement, contracts valued between N1 million and N50 million should fall under Category A, those between N51 million and N100 million under Category B, while contracts above N100 million should be classified as Category C.
He claimed that the model would help create a more balanced and transparent payment process.
Also, he called on the Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation to provide greater clarity on the disbursement process and address concerns raised by contractors.
In addition, he appealed to President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the payment of contractors engaged by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), alleging that some members had outstanding payments for projects executed several years ago.
“We appeal to His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to intervene in the plight of FCTA contractors. Payments to our members for executed projects have been outstanding for over three years,” Uchenna said.
He stressed the need for continuity in governance and completion of inherited projects to ensure value for public funds and improve service delivery.
“AICAN remains committed to partnering with the Federal Government to ensure quality and timely delivery of projects,” Uchenna added.
