Contractors have called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene over allegation that their payments were being delayed after execution of their various projects since 2024.
Some of the contractors claimed that they had been given payment vouchers some weeks ago, indicating that they have been paid but later discovered that there were no cash-backing to access the said money.
They believed that the delay in the payment could not be divorced from the alleged centralisation of the payment procedures of the local contractors by the office of the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF).
A contractor from Ibadan, Oyo State capital, Mr Ibrahim Bamisaye, in a chat with reporters on Wednesday in Ilorin, Kwara State said, “The resultant effect on us is that we keep on servicing the interests on the loans and the bonds we entered into, to execute and complete these projects.
“We had hoped that the money would be released as scheduled. Our workers cannot get their salaries and to meet the needs of our families are becoming difficult on daily basis.”
Bamisaye said after the approval of each budget by the National Assembly, it would become a law for the MDAs to pay the contractors.
He added, “The pre-condition is that, there must first be money on ground before the advertisement of the projects. Then the relevant agencies will upload and effect the payment to the various contractors. This did not cause any delay.
“But the newly approved policy which is causing serious delay in the payment is that, all the contractors in Nigeria will now be paid directly from the office of the Accountant General of the Federation. It is causing serious traffic in the payment of our money. We want President Ahmed Bola Tinubu to help us look into this serious issue,” he pleaded.
Bamisaye who applauded the President for reducing the indebtedness of Nigeria from International Monetary Fund (IMF) and boosting the external reserves of the nation, noted that the best gauge to measure the growth in the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would be a boost in the purchasing powers of the masses.
“When we are paid our money, the masses will feel the impact. The flow of money will be physically felt by them. Then, it is the President that will receive the accolades. The local contractors are dying.
“The President should please come to our rescue. It has never been in the history of Nigeria that the government could not meet her obligations on budget implementation,” Bamisaiye said.
