The House of Representatives had earlier suspended plenary session for a week over protest by contractors, and tasked the Federal Government to pay them within 7 days
The House of Representatives has suspended its plenary session for one week over protest by local contractors at the National Assembly on Tuesday.
The suspension followed an urgent motion of national importance moved by the Minority Leader, Rep. Kingsley Chinda (PDP, Rivers).
Adopting the motion, the House resolved to give the finance and budget ministers, alongside the Accountant-General of the Federation, seven days to pay all verified outstanding claims of local contractors for 2024 and ensure proper implementation of the 2025 budget
The House also mandated its leadership to monitor compliance with the resolution and report back within one week for further legislative actions.
While presenting the motion, Rep. Chinda drew the attention of the House to the ongoing protest by local contractors at the gate of the National Assembly complex.
Chinda lamented that despite repeated assurances and commitments from the Executive, including the Ministers of Finance and Budget, the contractors were yet to be paid for completed projects dating back to 2024, causing widespread hardship among Nigerians.
“Contractors, our brothers, our sisters Nigerians are protesting because they have not been paid for jobs they executed under the 2024 budget. This is despite several agreements reached with the Executive, including the Minister of Finance and Budget, to address the issue,” Rep. Chinda said.
The lawmaker recalled that the deputy speaker-led high-level committee had earlier met with the affected ministers, who promised to facilitate payments. He further noted that President Bola Tinubu had also instructed the relevant ministries to immediately clear the arrears, but that directive has yet to be implemented several weeks after.
The House expressed concern that the continued delay in payment had worsened economic hardship, created tension, and deepened poverty across the country.
The motion underscored the growing frustration among local contractors who accuse the government of neglect and breach of contract obligations, with many warning that sustained non-payment could cripple small and medium-scale enterprises dependent on public projects.
