By Our Reporter
ABUJA (CONVERSEER) – The Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi has said that President Bola Tinubu was not aware that the Federal Government owed contractors N2.2 trillion until the matter was brought to his notice.
Umahi made the disclosure on Wednesday while rendering an account of his ministry’s 2025 budget performance and defending the ministry’s 2026 budget proposal.
According to The Whistler, the local contractors who are owed the debts have not been able to get payment, despite a number of protests staged at the Federal Military of Finance, Abuja.
The minister, who appeared before a joint Works Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives, said the President has set up a committee with a mandate to review the debts.
Umahi said Vice President Kashim Shettima is the chairman of the committee, adding that the debts were owed by the Federal Government through the various MDAs.
The minister also disclosed that Tinubu inherited about 2,064 different ongoing road infrastructure projects when he assumed office in 2023.
“The cost of these projects was N13 trillion. That was before the floating of the Naira and the removal of oil subsidy, which have shot up the cost now,” he said.
The minister put the cost of various road projects being undertaken by the Tinubu administration across the six geopolitical zones at N797 billion.
Speaking on the poor state of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria road, the minister challenged the lawmakers to take a tour of the road for an on-the-spot assessment of the project.
Umahi said the Works ministry’s capital vote in the 2026 budget was N3.245 trillion, with N760 billion earmarked for new projects spread across the geopolitical zones.
The minister further hinted that the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), has withdrawn funding for some road projects to the tune of N7 trillion.
He assured the lawmakers that funding from the projects would be sourced from the domestic market bond.
Converseer reports that Sermatech, one of the companies working on the Odukpani-Itu-Ikot Ekpene Road, said it has been owed for over one year by the Federal Government.
