From Victor Osula, Abuja
President Bola Tinubu has set up a high-level inter-ministerial committee to clear an estimated ₦1.5 trillion backlog of debts owed to federal government contractors, following his strong displeasure over delays in payments for completed projects across the country.
His Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed this to State House correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over on Wednesday by the President at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The move follows sustained pressure from contractors over delays in the payment of certified works, some dating back to the previous year. In September, the All Indigenous Contractors Association of Nigeria protested at the Ministry of Finance in Abuja, claiming more than ₦4 trillion was outstanding for certified 2024 capital projects, a figure also echoed during their demonstration at the National Assembly.
Onanuga, who stood in for the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the President was visibly upset after being informed that about 2,000 contractors were owed for jobs already executed.
“He made it very, very clear that he is not happy and wants a one-stop solution. An important highlight of the FEC meeting is that the President expressed very grave displeasure about the fact that contractors are being owed money. The Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement told the President that about 2,000 contractors are being owed, and this made the President very upset. So, the ministers are going to look into the problem to really find a solution and find the money to be used in paying the contractors”, he said.
According to Onanuga, the President has mandated a committee comprising key economic and infrastructure ministers and top government officials to develop a concrete plan for settling the outstanding obligations.
Members of the committee include the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu; the Minister of Works, Engr. Dave Umahi, the Minister of Education, Olatunji Alausa, the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, and the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola.
Also on the committee are the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Tanimu Kurfi, and the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Dr Zacch Adedeji.
“All of them are supposed to sit down, develop a plan as a committee, meet as a committee, and then go to the President to tell him the solution they have found in allocating funds to pay contractors”, Onanuga explained.
He added that the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Adebowale Adedokun, had earlier briefed the Council on the scale of the legacy debts, which prompted the President’s decisive intervention.
“The mandate is to find the money and fix the problem of paying contractors. We need to look at what has been causing this problem. Why do we have the FIRS saying revenue is improving, yet contractors are being owed? That is why he set up a multi-ministerial committee to examine the issue. The President even said that, as a sovereign country, Nigeria could borrow to pay contractors if necessary. By the time the committee meets and reports back, a solution will be found”, he said.
