Reps furious with AGF over delayed payment of contractors funds

JONAS  EZIEKE, Abuja

The House of Representatives Committee on Public Procurement has tasked the Accountant General of the Federation, Mr Shamsudeen Ogunjimi, on speedy payment of contractors funds.

The House Committee Chairman, Hon. Unyime Idem gave the charge in a meeting in Abuja, expressed worry over the delay in payment.

He said that the committee had received series of petitions on cases of delayed and none payments for jobs delivered over the past two years.

Idem said that the house had been interfacing with the protesting contractors to ensure calm while efforts were being made to secure payments.

“The issue of non payments of contractors’ funds for the past two to three years now; on a daily basis, as a committee in charge of public procurement, we receive petitions and then protest.

“So we use wisdom to manage them till today, if not, maybe by now, they would have burnt your office but it took the effort of the committee and the leadership of the House to manage the anger and the protest on the side of the contractors.

“So the House asked us to also find out why the delay and in some cases, non-payments for the past two years,” he said.

Idem also requested the accountant general to, in seven days, provide documents to explain alleged infractions in contract award processes in the agency’s budget between 2023 2025.

Responding, Ogunjimi alleged misconduct in the processing of the award of contracts in some agencies of government.

He explained that some contracts were awarded without funds to back them up which had created gaps as it contravened the law.

The account general, however, said that efforts were ongoing to ensure all contractors who had delivered jobs were paid.

Ogunjimi was appointed in March, 2025, said that some of the directors as at when the alleged infractions took place had been posted out of Abuja.

He said that in one week, a proper and official response to all issues raised in the 2023 to 2025 budget will be sent to the committee.