Palliatives: Pay Flood Infrastructure Contractors, CSO Urges Tinubu

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja
A Civil society organisation, Good Governance Initiative (GGI), has called on President Bola Tinubu to pay contractors working on various infrastructural projects that will prevent flooding instead of spending on palliatives to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy.

Addressing journalists on Wednesday in Abuja, its Executive Secretary, Tony Luka said the immediate past administration of President Muhammadu Buhari through the ministry of works awarded contracts for the road infrastructures and some of the contractors have completed their work while others have done more than 50%.

The 2022 supplementary budget is N819 billion out of which N705 billion was allocated to the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing while N69bn is for the ministry of agriculture.

Luka explained that It is out of this lump sum that the president requested for approval to move N500 billion, more than fifty percent of the total sum for palliative.

He said of the N500 billion, the sum of N185.236 billion was for the Ministry of Works and Housing to alleviate the impact of severe flooding experienced in the country in 2022 on road infrastructure across the six-political zones of the country.

Luka stated: “It is therefore a breach of agreement for the government to move the money that was clearly voted for these jobs to a phantom palliative.

He revealed that findings by the CSO showed that some of the contractors took facilities from banks to begin the work, noting that government’s decision to use the money that should be used in paying them for palliatives could further worsen the situation.

He expressed the fears that some of the contractors could be forced to abandon the site.

Luka added: “The fact that Mr President, who is seen as a business man that will provide clementine environment for genuine business men to do their trade could condone this is worrying to us.

“Should this not be immediately reversed with the contractors paid and those yet to finish the job getting full assurance of being paid upon completion, then we should be ready to see investors leave in droves” he added.

While urging the president to rescind the decision and ensure the money is used for what it was initially budgeted, the CSO said doing otherwise would compound the woes of most Nigerians as work on the road infrastructures would be stalled.