The House of Representatives, on Tuesday, issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu; and the Accountant-General of the Federation, Dr Shamsudeen Ogunjimi, to clear all outstanding debts owed to indigenous contractors and commence full implementation of the 2025 budget.
The resolution followed a motion of urgent public importance raised by the Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda, during plenary on Tuesday.
Chinda informed the House that local contractors had stormed the National Assembly complex earlier in the day, staging a protest that disrupted movement in and out of the premises.
He recalled that in June 2025, Bauchi lawmaker Senator Abdul Ningi raised concerns over the non-payment of federal contractors since 2024, prompting a directive for an investigation.
The Office of the Accountant-General had subsequently promised to begin payments.
However, the Minority Leader noted that the commitment was not fulfilled. The Chairman of the House Special Committee on Budget Implementation and Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, later invited over 80 contractors alongside top government officials — including Edun and Ogunjimi — where it was agreed that payments would commence on September 8, 2025.
Speaking on his motion, Chinda said the House leadership had also met with both ministers and later with President Bola Tinubu, who ordered the immediate settlement of the contractors’ claims.
He said, “We saw local contractors at the National Assembly carrying out a protest that they have not been paid for jobs they concluded right from 2024 in the budget of the Republic of Nigeria.
“And this took us back, because we have reached several decisions with the Executive and particularly the Minister for Finance and Budget on the payment of local contractors. And I felt that it is necessary considering the hardship that our people have gone through because of non-payment of these local contractors, building on the non-implementation of the 2024-2025 budget.”
Chinda added that the contractors had vowed to continue their protest for another week.
He warned that, “The non-payment of local contractors has brought severe hardship on both the local contractors and indeed the Nigerian populace, and this has brought tension and increased poverty in our country.
“The House is urged to resolve that the Minister of Finance, Minister of Budget, and Accountant General of the country be given seven days to make the aforesaid payments of all outstanding bills to local contractors for 2024 and implement the 2025 budgets.
“The House is further called upon to mandate the leadership of the House to ensure implementation and strict compliance with the aforesaid resolution and report back to the House within one week for further drastic legislative action.”
The motion was unanimously adopted.
In a related development, the House also approved a motion by Hon. Ahmadu Mai Palace (Zamfara), calling for an adjournment of plenary in solidarity with the protesting contractors.
Seconding the motion, Chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, Francis Waive, said the protest had caused serious inconvenience to lawmakers, staff and visitors, adding that the situation could worsen as contractors threatened to return to the complex if their demands are not met.
The House resolved to take tougher legislative measures should the executive fail to comply within the stipulated time.
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