Contractors handling federal projects across the country have appealed to President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the payment of outstanding debts owed to them by the Federal Government.
While accusing the government of deliberately stalling works through funding delays, they urged the President to direct the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, to expedite the release of funds to settle their claims.
They insisted that the failure to disburse funds has not only forced them to abandon sites but is also causing them to incur more losses.
Speaking on behalf of the contractors on Tuesday, Austin Emegwagwa claimed that contractors were last paid in October 2024.
He said contractors have abandoned sites except those handling the Lagos-Calabar coastal road, whom he claimed are even being paid in advance.
“The new payment method is referred to as bottom-up, and unfortunately, the bottom-up for November to March has not been paid. Up till now, the releases for the 2024 budget to MDAs are not up to 50 per cent.”
“We have never experienced this long delay since the dawn of the current democratic dispensation. Contractors were paid last in October 2024. So, from November to date, there has been a long wait for payment,” he said.
Emegwagwa lamented the payment delay, insisting that the government’s action has left some doubts about the 2025 budget.
He wondered how the FG would convince Nigerians that it could fund the 2025 budget when releases for the 2024 budget are not up to 40 per cent.
He said most contractors are tempted to believe that the government is deliberately starving them of funds even though their projects are at advanced stages of completion, adding, “This is a disincentive to most of us who have committed resources to the projects we are handling.”
He also alleged that the government was solely focusing attention on the Lagos-Calabar coastal road, claiming that payment for the project has been going on seamlessly, and wondered why other contractors are being owed.
Emegwagwa lamented that, in spite of subsidy removal, excessive borrowing, and the devaluation of the naira, the government is still not willing to honour its contractual obligations to contractors, noting that “most of us are on the verge of going bankrupt because we borrowed money from banks at huge interest rates. The President should kindly come to our aid.”
