Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi has set up six committees to review all debts of unpaid certified contractors whose certificates were generated before May 29th, 2023, and from May 29th, 2023 to date.
Chief Press Secretary to the Minister,
Barr. Orji Uchenna announced the development in a statement issued on Sunday, December 10, 2023.
According to the statement, the committees would also review the approved and unapproved variation of prices and all augmentations that were approved or were yet to be approved and make recommendations to the Ministry’s management.
It said the ministry further exposed these debts and all reviews in the Ministry to Mr. President’s economic team and also to the Federal Executive Committee on road sector funding with the belief that the internal works through these constituted committees would help them to use external Consultants to reverify the works so that concrete decisions would be made.
Contractors who were being owed were requested to approach the committees with all documents to back up their claims from Tuesday 12th, 2023 to Friday, 22nd of December 2023 at the Minister’s Conference Room, Federal Ministry of Works, Headquarters, Mabushi Abuja.
In another development, the Minister thanked the Acting Permanent Secretary and all the Heads of Departments who handled the Ministry’s budget for their commitment to the appraisal of the 2023 budget and the preparation of the 2024 budget proposal.
He noted that the road sector needed a different kind of attention beyond the 2024 budget envelope received by the Ministry:
“For a developing nation like Nigeria, road sector development is a catalyst for economic development. The road sector has the potential to improve the security sector, agricultural sector, trade and investment, health, education, and, in fact, every aspect of the development of every nation”, Umahi said.
He thanked the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Bola Tinubu, for the attention given to the Ministry and his approval of concrete pavement in most of the 2024 projects.
The Minister further noted the huge debts arising from unpaid certificates inherited from the past administration, which run up to N1.5 trillion up to date, and the expected contract reviews arising from inflation.
