The Federal Ministry of Works is addressing a media distortion, specifically by Channels Television, concerning a claim that the Minister, Senator Umahi, promised to pay all local contractors by December 20, 2025. It must be explicitly stated that the Minister of Works, Senator (Engr.) David Umahi, does not speak on behalf of the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, who is ultimately responsible for all payments to contractors handling Federal Government projects.
​The accurate account of the Minister of Works’ statement is as follows:
​On Thursday, December 4, 2025, while inspecting the three sections of the Mararraba-Keffi Expressway (projects funded through the NNPC Tax Credit Scheme and now overseen by the Ministry of Works), the Minister commended the contractors for their excellent work.
​He assured them that following the verification of generated certificates by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the Ministry of Works, acting through the Ministry of Finance, will commence payments before December 20, 2025. Furthermore, the Minister appealed to all contractors handling similar projects nationwide to continue their work without interruption.
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The Federal Ministry of Works emphasizes that setting payment deadlines for contractors falls under the purview of the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, not this Ministry. Although the Federal Government is making concerted efforts to liquidate verified inherited debts, the media is required to correct the misinformation that attributes payment deadlines to the Ministry of Works.
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