TheCable

The federal capital territory administration (FCTA) says the delay in the payment of contractors for COVID-19-related supplies is due to dwindling internal revenue generation.

On Monday, contractors supplying COVID-19 supplies had barricaded the premises of the FCTA over alleged diversion of funds by Olusade Adesola, permanent secretary of FCTA.

The contractors had claimed they made the supplies between March 2020 and April 2021 without being paid, while alleging that officials demanded a bribe of N1 million from each contractor to facilitate payment.

Reacting to the development in a statement on Friday, Adesola denied the bribery allegation, adding that one of the reasons the contractors have not been paid is the delay in the expected funds from the federal government.

He said the administration has paid 109 contractors who supplied COVID-19 materials to the health and human services secretariat (HHSS), while 54 contractors in other secretariats, departments, and agencies have been paid, despite the funding challenges.

The permanent secretary appealed to the contractors for patience, while expressing optimism that they would be paid as soon as possible.

“We are making serious efforts in ensuring that we get the expected funds from the federal government,” he said.

“We are also ensuring that we up-scale our internal revenue generation (IGR) to enable us to offset our liabilities. I want to assure you that all our contractors will be paid soon.’’