After months of agitation and rising tension, the Federal Government has commenced the long-awaited settlement of debts owed contractors handling projects across ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
Confirming the development, spokesperson for the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF), Mr. Bawa Mokwa, disclosed that payments had already begun following a series of meetings between government officials and aggrieved contractors last week.
For more than a year, contractors have decried non-payment for executed federal projects, a situation that threatened the continuity of several critical infrastructure works nationwide. The matter reached a tipping point in June when Senator Abdul Ahmed Ningi, representing Bauchi Senatorial District, raised alarm over the backlog, lamenting that contractors had been abandoned since 2024.
Similarly, only last month, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Monitoring and Evaluation, Hon. Obi Aguocha, urged the Federal Government to urgently address the plight of contractors, warning that the stalemate could stall service delivery and undermine the administration’s development agenda.
Mr. Mokwa, while confirming the breakthrough, stated that resolutions were reached during last Wednesday’s meeting. He assured that the government had begun disbursing funds and would sustain the process until outstanding obligations were cleared.
“Payment to contractors has begun; it will be continued,” Mokwa said.
The move is expected to restore confidence among contractors who had threatened to down tools, and also reassure Nigerians of the government’s commitment to delivering ongoing projects across the country.
