The House of Representatives Committee on Public Procurement has called on the Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr. Shamsudeen Ogunjimi, to urgently settle outstanding payments owed to contractors handling projects under the Bola Tinubu administration.
The committee’s chairman, Hon. Unyime Idem, who represents Ukanafun/Oruk Anam Federal Constituency of Akwa Ibom State, issued the directive during a meeting with the Accountant-General in Abuja on Friday.
Idem noted that the committee had received numerous petitions from contractors over unpaid funds for projects completed within the last two to three years.
“There is the issue of non-payment of contractors’ funds for the past two to three years now,” Idem said. “On a daily basis, we receive petitions. We’ve had to use wisdom to manage the situation because, without intervention, some contractors would have resorted to violent protests.”
He recalled that contractors had staged a peaceful protest in Abuja in September 2025 to demand payment, prompting the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, to appoint the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, to mediate. The federal government subsequently assured the contractors of its commitment to honoring all contractual obligations.
Earlier in June 2025, Senator Abdul Ningi had raised similar concerns on the Senate floor, lamenting that federal contractors had not been paid since 2024, and urging an immediate investigation.
To address the situation, the Accountant-General’s office had pledged to begin payment of verified debts.
However, at Friday’s session, the committee gave Ogunjimi a seven-day ultimatum to submit documents clarifying alleged infractions in contract awards across Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) between 2023 and 2025.
In response, Ogunjimi admitted that some irregularities had been discovered in the award of contracts, including cases where projects were approved without budgetary provisions to fund them.
He assured lawmakers that efforts were already underway to commence payments to affected contractors.
Ogunjimi, who assumed office in March 2025, further disclosed that some of the MDA directors involved in questionable contract processes had since been redeployed from the Federal Capital Territory.
He promised to provide the committee with a detailed and official report within a week, covering all issues related to contract awards and payments from 2023 to 2025.
