By Gloria Ikibah
The House of Representatives has directed the Accountant General of the Federation, Shamsudeen Ogunjimi, to fast-track the release of funds owed to government contractors across various ministries and agencies.
Chairman Committee on Public Procurement, Rep. Unyime Idem, during a meeting in Abuja, who expressed concern over persistent delays in payments, noted that the committee had received “numerous petitions and protests” from contractors who completed projects but had not been paid for up to two years. 
He said: “The issue of non-payment of contractors’ funds for the past two to three years now has become alarming.
“On a daily basis, as a committee in charge of public procurement, we receive petitions and protests. We’ve had to use wisdom to manage them till today; otherwise, perhaps by now, they would have burnt your office. It took the effort of the committee and the House leadership to manage the anger and protests from the contractors.”
Reps. Idem who disclosed that the House had directed the committee to determine the causes of the delays and, in some cases, outright non-payment, also instructed the Accountant General to submit, within seven days, detailed documents addressing alleged irregularities in contract award processes linked to the 2023–2025 budget.
In his response, Ogunjimi acknowledged that certain government agencies had violated due process by awarding contracts without available funds to support them, and that it had created financial gaps and contributed to the delay in settling contractors’ claims.
The Accountant General, who assumed office in March 2025, assured lawmakers that his office was working to clear outstanding payments to all verified contractors.
He added that some of the directors involved in the periods under review have since been redeployed, but promised to deliver a comprehensive, official response to the committee’s queries within a week.
