The Federal Government has warned contractors handling federal projects that they risk investigation and recovery action if they fail to return to sites after receiving mobilisation funds.
Minister of Works, David Umahi, said the government would deploy the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to recover public funds from contractors who abandon projects despite receiving payments.
Umahi issued the warning on Wednesday in Abuja while briefing journalists, saying the government had rescoped and rephased some projects to make them more realistic and improve their execution.
He said contractors who had received funds must deploy the money to the projects rather than leave sites unattended or prioritise state government contracts.
“With all the money that the contractors have in their hands, they must exhaust it to earn more money. So, we have rescoped the project; we have rephased it,” he said.
The minister warned that contractors who failed to return to their sites from next week would face action to recover the funds.
“From next week, any contractor that has got their money and is not on site, we are going to call for the EFCC so that we can recover the money,” he said.
Umahi also said contractors would no longer be allowed to rely on political connections or lobby government stakeholders to avoid their contractual obligations.
“If you have the money of the Federal Government, no matter who is behind you, you will either meet us with the EFCC or you meet us in your bank to recover the money,” he said.
He announced an expanded monitoring arrangement involving the EFCC, ICPC, civil society organisations and student groups, alongside increased site inspections and supervision.
“So, it’s going to be aggressive: site visitation and supervision. We’ve alerted the EFCC, ICPC, and civil society organisations. Students are doing their own,” Umahi said.
The minister listed the Kano-Maiduguri Road, Keffi-Mararaba Road, Lafia bypass, Bonny Island Road, Lokoja-Benin corridor, Danbatta-Demesu Road and Gombe-Bauchi Road among projects that had either been completed or were nearing completion.
Others include the Azare axis linking Jigawa and Bauchi, Apapa five-span bridge, Eke-Obinagu 23-span flyover in Enugu, 75-metre Tizm Bridge and the Sagamu Interchange-Iperu Junction Road.
Umahi also defended the Federal Government’s infrastructure spending in the South-East, saying the region was receiving more federal projects than under previous administrations.
He said the projects reflected what he described as the integration of the region into the national development agenda under President Bola Tinubu.
“I was a party chairman. I was a deputy governor. I was governor. And no single project of the Federal Government came to the Southeast. And today, we are having a barrage of projects,” Umahi said.
He urged residents of the region to support the Federal Government’s infrastructure programme, while stressing that the increased spending would only produce results if contractors delivered projects for which public funds had been released.
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