President Bola Tinubu has constituted a multi-ministerial committee to address the backlog of unpaid federal contracts, estimated at about ₦1.5 trillion and affecting roughly 2,000 contractors nationwide.
The decision followed deliberations at the Federal Executive Council meeting held on Wednesday in Abuja, where the President expressed strong dissatisfaction over the scale of the outstanding liabilities.
Briefing journalists after the meeting, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said Tinubu was visibly displeased after being informed of the situation.
“The President made it very clear that he is not happy about contractors being owed and wants a one-stop solution,” Onanuga said.
“When the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement revealed that about 2,000 contractors are affected, the President was clearly upset.”
According to Onanuga, Tinubu immediately directed the formation of a high-level committee to identify funding options and remove administrative bottlenecks delaying payments.
“The ministers are to sit down, work out a plan, and come back to the President with a concrete solution on how to find the money and pay these contractors,” he explained.
The committee is made up of the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu; Minister of Works, Dave Umahi; Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa; Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa; and Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola.
Also included are the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Tanimu Kurfi, and the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Zacch Adedeji.
Onanuga said Council members were briefed on the scale of the legacy debts, prompting questions on why contractors remain unpaid despite improved revenue performance in some government agencies.
“The mandate given to the committee is simple: find the money and fix the problem,” he said.
“The President even noted that, as a sovereign nation, borrowing could be considered if necessary to clear these obligations.”
The move comes amid sustained pressure from contractors, some of whom have complained about unpaid works completed as far back as 2024.
In September, members of the All Indigenous Contractors Association of Nigeria staged protests at the Ministry of Finance and the National Assembly, claiming outstanding payments running into several trillions of naira.
Earlier this year, the Ministry of Works also confirmed a verification exercise to clear about ₦1.5 trillion in debts linked to federal highway projects.
The payment crisis has been further complicated by overlapping budget cycles, with capital components of the 2024 budget extending deep into 2025. Lawmakers recently approved additional domestic borrowing to bridge widening fiscal gaps.
The Presidency expressed optimism that the committee’s recommendations would result in a coordinated and lasting solution to the contractors’ debt burden.
