FG threatens contractors with EFCC action over abandoned projects

The Federal Government has threatened to involve the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other anti-graft agencies against contractors who collect mobilisation funds for federal projects but fail to return to site.

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, issued the warning on Wednesday in Abuja, saying contractors who hold on to public funds or prioritise state government projects over federal contracts would no longer be tolerated.

Umahi said contractors who had already received government funds must deploy the money to their project sites, stressing that the government had rescoped and re-phased several projects to make them more achievable.

“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,” the minister said.

He also warned contractors against relying on political connections or lobbying government officials to avoid their contractual obligations.

According to him, contractors would either execute the federal projects for which they had been paid or face efforts to recover the funds.

Umahi said the government had also stepped up project monitoring, with the EFCC, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), civil society organisations and student groups expected to participate in site inspections and supervision.

The minister said the government had made progress on several major road and bridge projects across the country, citing sections of the Kano-Maiduguri Road, Keffi-Mararaba Road, Lafia bypass, Bonny Island Road and Gombe-Bauchi Road rehabilitation among projects completed or nearing completion.

Other projects he listed included the Obajana Junction concrete pavement on the Lokoja-Benin corridor, Danbatta-Demesu Road, Azare axis linking Jigawa and Bauchi, Apapa five-span bridge, Eke-Obinagu flyover in Enugu, Tizm Bridge and the Sagamu Interchange-Iperu Junction Road.

Umahi also defended the Federal Government’s infrastructure investments in the South-East, saying the region was receiving more federal projects under President Bola Tinubu than in previous administrations.

He described the projects as evidence of the administration’s efforts to integrate the region into the national development agenda.

The minister, however, stressed that increased government spending on infrastructure would only translate into completed projects if contractors used funds released to them for the intended work.

The warning signals a tougher enforcement approach by the Ministry of Works against contractors accused of abandoning projects after receiving public funds.