Why we owe contractors N1.5bn – FHA

The Federal Housing Authority says it is yet to release over N1.5 billion approved for payment of contractors as it is yet to conclude verification and physical inspections of the projects.

Head of Public Affairs Unit FHA, Kenneth Chigelu, in a statement, said the delay in payments was to allow “painstaking verification and audit of the projects for quality control and compliance with global standards.”

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This came on the heels of a protest by contractors on Tuesday, under the aegis of Federal Housing Authority Contractors Association who said they were owned N1.55bn by the authority despite the release of the funds by the federal government.

Chairman, FHA contractors, Innocent Odika, had alleged that the money for the Abuja Mass Housing Project, Zuba, was released last year, but got stuck with the management, hence the delay in the completion of the projects.

But Chigelu said the management of the FHA had met with the protesters and assured them that all outstanding debts owed to those who had completed their projects and met all agreed Key Performance Indices would be paid on Friday.