Umahi Warns Contractors Withholding FG's .... Says EFCC will visit defaulters if such money was not found on project sites from next week.

"Contractors holding Federal Government funds must be prepared to account for them, irrespective of their political or other connections." Umahi 

Nigeria's Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, on Wednesday warned contractors handling Federal Government road projects that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) would be invited to recover funds released to them if such money was not found on project sites from next week.

Umahi gave the warning at a press briefing at the headquarters of the Ministry of Works in Abuja, where he disclosed that the ministry would intensify project supervision and site visits to ensure contractors delivered on projects for which they had received government funds.

The minister expressed concern that some contractors handling federal projects were allegedly more committed to projects awarded by state governments, warning that the practice would no longer be tolerated.

“From next week, any contractor that has our money and it’s not on site, we are going to call for the EFCC so that we recover the money,” Umahi said.

He said contractors holding Federal Government funds must be prepared to account for them, irrespective of their political or other connections.

“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 warned.

Umahi said the ministry would strengthen its monitoring mechanisms to ensure that public funds released for road construction were translated into visible work on project sites.

The minister also used the briefing to caution the 2023 presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Prince Adewole Adebayo, against what he described as persistent attacks and disparaging remarks against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

He urged Adebayo to exercise restraint in his criticism of the President, stressing that political opposition should be based on constructive engagement, alternative policies and verifiable facts rather than personal attacks.

“I have listened to some of the comments being made by Prince Adewole Adebayo against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and I think he should exercise restraint. Democracy thrives on constructive criticism, but there is a difference between constructive engagement and constant insults,” he said.

Umahi argued that Adebayo lacked executive experience to make sweeping judgments on the challenges of governing Nigeria, noting that leadership involved taking difficult decisions with far-reaching consequences.

“You have not been a councillor, you have not governed a local government, you have not been a governor, and you have not held executive responsibility at any level. Leadership is not what you read in books or discuss in television studios alone. It is about making difficult decisions in the interest of the people,” the minister said.

Defending the policies of the Tinubu administration, Umahi said the President had demonstrated courage by implementing economic reforms and infrastructure projects which, according to him, previous administrations had avoided.

He cited the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Sokoto-Badagry Super Highway, Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Road, Second Niger Bridge access roads and other highway rehabilitation projects as evidence of the administration’s commitment to national development.

On the forthcoming elections, the minister said political contests should be based on ideas, vision and track records, stressing that Nigerians would ultimately judge the administration by the impact of its policies and projects.

Expressing support for President Tinubu’s re-election bid, Umahi said: “I believe in God for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. God brought him, and by the grace of God, He will complete the work He sent him to do for Nigeria.”

He urged Nigerians to support the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda, maintaining that the gains of its reforms would become more visible as implementation progresses.