The Nation Newspaper

Tag: local contractors

  • Local contractors groan over govt’s N2.4 trn local debts

    Local contractors groan over govt’s N2.4 trn local debts

    Local contractors have cried out over N2.4 trillion debts owed them by government ministries and agencies in the three tiers of government across the country.

    At a media briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, the contractors said the N10 billion which the Federal Government announced in 2016 for part payment of the contractors money has remained a mirage.

    The chairman of the contractors association, Mr. Onuche Okoh, regretted that the circular issued by the Federal Government directing payment to local contractors was being abused by the same government.

    Okoh lamented that about 572 of their 11, 802 members have died within the last seven years while waiting to be paid.

    According to him, top government officials in the MDAs have been awarding government contracts to themselves through consultants without going through due process, while registered contractors are forced to buy the same contracts from third parties.

    “Consultants have taken over the job of contractors and contractors are now buying contracts through third parties who happen to be fronts and cronies of top government officials”, Okoh further lamented.

    He stated that attempts by the contractors to have the Bureau of Procurement publish the list of all registered government contractors in the county were ignored.

    The chairman alleged that apart from awarding contracts to their private companies through proxies, MDAs patronise foreign contractors from who they collect hefty of kickbacks.

    Said he, “They are awarding contracts to these foreign firms and consultants because of the percentage they collect from these foreigners.

    “There are no more contracts for local contractors and no payment for contracts executed by our members. We are begging the government to give us listening ear”.

    The contractors called on the Federal Government not to take a second look at its directive to the Ministry of Finance to pay for contracts executed in 2016 alone, saying there have been backlog of unpaid contract sums dating back to 10 years.

    The group cited the cases of the Nigeria Police which owed contractors to the tune of N7.7 billion and the Federal Ministry of Works owing contractor to the tune of over N600 billion.

     

     

  • Lagos assures local contractors of patronage

    Lagos assures local contractors of patronage

    •Govt targets 3000mw in four years

    INDEGENOUS contractors and artisans are be patronised by the Lagos State Government, the Commissioner for Budget & Economic Planning, Akinyemi Ashade, has said.

    Ashade, who is overseeing the Finance Ministry, gave the assurance during the mid-year appraisal of the 2017 Appropriation Act and the 2018 Budget Consultative Forum at Lagos West Senatorial District.

    The local artisans had complained to the commissioner at the Cubic Events Centre, venue of the zonal forum of low patronage by the government, only to be asked to perform their civic duty in tax payment.

    They specifically frowned at preference of their counterparts from neighbouring West Africa countries of Republic of Benin, Ghana and Togo at their own detriment.

    According to them, the cash being repatriated by the foreign artisans was contributing to capital flights as the beneficiaries do not pay taxes. They described it as injustice to compel them to fulfil their tax obligations.

    But Ashade assured them of government patronage, identifying three reasons that could have accounted for job exportation

    The reasons are: lack of the required skill; high contract costs and insincerity.

    According to the commissioner, the government has a plan to recertify the local artisans after sharpening their skills at series of workshops to be oragnised for them soon.

    The commissioner also said that the government would tackle electricity problems to make the Centre of Excellence live up to its bidding as the nation’s industrial hub.

    He described the 1000 megawatts daily supply to the state from the national grid as a far cry from the 10000 megatts need of industrial and residential power consumers in the state.

    Ashade hinted that the executive was already working on the legal framework on power reform, adding that bill on the reform would soon be forwarded to the State Assembly for consideration.

    The government, he explained, has a plan to take the state off the national grid by generating 3,000 megawatts of electricity in the next four years.

    The commissioner said: “Our plan is to take Lagos off the national grid and to be self-sustained in regular power supply. What we need to drive the Lagos economy is 10,000 megawatts but what the state gets is 1000 megawatts.”

    He listed the environment, transport and power sectors as areas of priorities in next year’s budget, urging Lagosians to always pay their taxes.

    Other priority areas according to him, include: security; education; job creation; healthy; tourism; social welfare; economy and justice among others.

     

  • Senate seeks ‘immediate payment of N2tr’ owed local contractors

    Senate seeks ‘immediate payment of N2tr’ owed local contractors

    •It will boost economy, says Senator Tinubu

    THE Senate yesterday resolved to ask the Federal Government to work out a framework for the immediate payment of N2 trillion owed local contractors.
    The Senate said it was concerned that domestic debt as at June 30, 2016 was N10 trillion.
    The resolution followed unanimous adoption of a motion titled: “The urgent need for the Federal Government to redeem local contractors’ debts” proposed by Senator Oluremi Tinubu (Lagos Central) and five others.
    Senator Tinubu, in her lead debate, said the economy was experiencing difficult times caused by a slump in oil prices, leading to a negative gross domestic product (GDP) in three consecutive quarters of 2016.
    During the period, she said GDP shrank by 0.36 per cent in the first quarter, 2.06 per cent in the second quarter and 2.24 per cent in the third quarter.
    She said as a result, there was an increase in the rate of unemployment and prices of goods.
    The lawmaker noted that the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) report on the Federal Government’s indebtedness to the local economy is having an effect in protracting the country’s economic situation.
    Senate Tinubu said the Senate should be disturbed that further delay in servicing these debts might adversely affect business organisations.
    She noted that the fact that many businesses were indebted to banks might subsequently affect financial organisations and businesses.
    She referred to a publication, which claimed that banks are being owed over N465 billion by oil importers alone.
    The lawmaker said she was also “disturbed because it is claimed that the mounting debts owed the banks is as a result of failure of the Federal Government to pay outstanding subsidy arrears before entering into the new oil pricing regime”.
    She referred to a publication contained in The Nation of Wednesday, January 26, 2017, which put banks’ bad loan at N856.9 billion; with the upstream oil and gas, general commerce, manufacturing and power sectors accounting for a significant portion of the loan.
    She expressed worry that this could spell doom for the banking and the financial services sector, if not urgently addressed.
    The Lagos Central Senator said the inability to repay subsisting bank loans might affect the purchasing power of the petroleum marketers and lead to scarcity of petroleum products.
    She was also concerned about the alleged “failure to pay debts owed to pharmaceutical companies and the impact this may have on the health sector”.
    “This is contained in a publication by The Nation on Monday, February 6, 2017,” she said.
    Senator Tinubu said she was disturbed that data released by the Debt Management Office put Nigeria’s domestic debt as at June 30, 2016 at over N10 trillion and local contractors debt estimated at N2 trillion.
    She opined that settling the local debts would ensure that businesses stay afloat through increase in the circulation of money to end recession.
    She noted that the Senate should be conscious and determined to ensure that Nigeria’s economy recover from recession and is nursed back to prosperity in the shortest possible time.
    Senator Barau Jibrin (Kano North), who seconded the motion, noted that the motion was aimed at boosting the country’s economy. He said it was obvious that if the contractors and oil marketers are paid, it would enable them to service their loans in banks and banks would in turn continue to be afloat.
    Senator Magnus Abe (Rivers South East) noted that every Nigerian was concerned about the well-being of the economy.
    He added that the last time some banks went under, families, companies and businesses suffered.
    Abe said most companies were unable to service their loans because they owed huge sums of money.
    The lawmaker urged government to roll out repayment plan to boost the confidence of contractors that their debts would be paid.
    Senator Shehu Sani (Kaduna Central) underscored the need to pay the contractors.
    Sani noted that as chairman, Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, he had been inundated with calls by contractors who were owed huge sums of money.
    He prayed the Senate to give the motion the teeth it deserved to ensure that the contractors were immediately paid.
    Senate President Bukola Saraki, who spoke after the motion had been adopted, described it as “a very important motion”.
    Saraki noted that the inability of the government to pay contractors has serious impact on the country’s economy.
    He urged government to fast-tract the bond it planned to raise to enable it pay the contractors.
    The prayers to urge the Federal Government to appraise its indebtedness to the local contractors as well as to propose a framework/repayment plan for servicing of the debts as proposed by Senator Tinubu were unanimously adopted.

  • ‘N100b debt to local contractors fraudulent’

    ‘N100b debt to local contractors fraudulent’

    The Delta State Government has disowned a large chunk of the N100,916,022,334.67 billion debt it is said to owe local contractors.
    It said a review of the local debts showed that the state’s contractual obligations to contractors might not have exceed N50 billion.
    The government assured that its debts to contractors would be reduced after the completion of the current verification and renegotiation with key contractors
    Finance Commissioner David Edebvie spoke yesterday in Asaba, the state capital, during a ministerial media briefing.
    He said the state’s debt to local contractors was exaggerated, adding that after a review of the contracts, many contracts would be cancelled.
    The commissioner said large scale fraud was discovered in the Osubi Airport project, following a scrutiny of debts owed local contractors by his office.
    Edebvie said his office discovered “double-counting” in the award for the runway and expansion as well as the upgrade of the Osubi Airport.
    According to him, the government will begin discussions with the three local contractors awarded the contract.
    Edebvie said the Ifeanyi Okowa administration would invite the three major contractors for discussions and records to prove the fraud.