The House of Representatives, on Tuesday mandated its committee on Aids, Loans and Debt Management, in liaison with the budget office to ascertain the debt owed to local contractors by the Federal Government.
The mandate was the outcome of a motion moved by Emmanuel Oker-Jev, entitled: “Urgent need to carry out verification of local debts owed by the Federal Government before payment.”
Moving the motion, Oker-Jev noted that there was much uncertainty surrounding the amount of local debts owed by the Federal Government to local contractors.
He said that while some people put the figure at about N2.2 trillion, others put it at over N10.61 trillion.
Oker-Jev said: “With the clamour for the reflation of the economy, the federal government will soon start settling those local debts when the budget is passed.
“Considering the shenanigans of Nigeria’s bureaucracy, the estimated amount allegedly being owed to local contractors may not be real.
“The actual debt may have been over estimated and it will amount to a major disservice to the nation for trillions of Naira to be paid without verification.”
Oker-Jev said that if investigation was carried out before payments were made, trillions of naira would be saved for the national treasury.
The legislator added that the excess funds could be used to develop infrastructure.
Contributing to the debate on the motion, Abdulrazak Namdas said that if local
contractors were paid, it would be a way of providing employment for the youths.
In her contribution, Funke Adedoyin, observed that payment of the debts owed contractors “was critical to the survival of our economy and the reduction of local debts”.
The motion was unanimously adopted by members after it was put to voice vote by the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara.
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