Why we are delaying contractors’ payments – Accountant General

The Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr. Shamsudeen Ogunjimi, has attributed the delay in payment to some government contractors to irregularities in the contract award processes of certain agencies.

Speaking during a meeting with the House of Representatives Committee on Public Procurement on Friday in Abuja, Ogunjimi said some contracts were awarded without adequate financial backing, a violation of procurement regulations that has created challenges in processing payments.

He assured that ongoing efforts were being made to settle all verified contractors who had completed their jobs.

Ogunjimi, who assumed office in March 2025, added that some of the directors involved in the affected transactions had since been redeployed from Abuja. He further disclosed that within a week, his office would send an official response addressing all issues raised regarding the 2023 to 2025 budgets.

Earlier, the committee’s chairman, Rep. Unyime Idem (PDP–Akwa Ibom), expressed concern over the prolonged delay in paying contractors, noting that the committee had received several petitions from aggrieved parties whose payments had been pending for more than two years.

He said the committee had been engaging with protesting contractors to maintain calm while pushing for the release of payments.

“The issue of non-payments of contractors for the past two to three years now is worrisome; as a committee in charge of public procurement, we receive petitions and sometimes protesters on this.

“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 they delay and, in some cases, non-payments for the past two years,” he said.

Idem also directed the Accountant-General to submit within seven days documents clarifying alleged infractions in the contract award processes in the agency’s 2023–2025 budgets.