•Agency disburses N1.2b to settle contractors’ debts
The federal government has insisted on completion of the over 1,300 abandoned Rural Electrification Agency (REA) projects before granting approval for fresh ones, it was learnt yesterday.
A highly placed source in the agency told our correspondent at the weekend: “President Buhari said there is no need for new projects when we have not completed the ones we started and abandoned.”
The source, who requested for strict anonymity, noted: “the federal government has earmarked N6 billion for on-going projects across the 36 states.
“We have asked the contractors to go to site and once they present their certificates we pay them,” he said.
He added the agency is simply budgeting in 2017 for completion of existing projects.
He also revealed the federal government has approved N1.2 billion for payment of debt owed to the agency’s contractors to inject funds into the economy.
The source said that government owes contractors N7.8 billion from which the agency presented N2.2 billion 2016 budget and got an approval for N1.2 billion.
In the cause of paying contractors, the source said the “REA decided to pay all those that were owed N1 million and below, 100 per cent.
“We paid N2 million to those that were owed N2 million to N8 million while we paid 25 per cent to those that were owed N8 million and above.”
75 percent of the contractors, said the source, have been paid in the ongoing settlement from the N1.2billion.