The Senate has constituted a six-member panel to engage the Federal Ministry of Finance and obtain a comprehensive account of the federal government’s plans to settle its accumulated debts to contractors, giving the committee a one-week deadline to submit findings on the status of outstanding obligations and measures in place to resolve them.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced the constitution of the committee during plenary after lawmakers endorsed the proposal by voice vote. He named Senator Sani Musa, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance and representative of Niger East in the APC, to chair the panel.

Other members are Senators Adetokunbo Abiru representing Lagos East, Kawu Sumaila representing Kano South, Abubakar Sani Bello representing Niger North, Isah Jibrin representing Niger East, and Abdullahi Yahaya representing Kebbi Central, all under the APC platform.

The committee is expected to establish the total quantum of outstanding debts owed to contractors who have completed government capital projects, the measures already taken by the government to address the backlog, and the realistic prospects for prompt settlement. The panel’s report will guide further legislative action.

Akpabio said the panel should liaise with other relevant government agencies in addition to the Ministry of Finance. Many contractors working on federal projects had repeatedly raised concerns that prolonged payment delays had raised project costs, hampered operations, and threatened the timely completion of critical infrastructure.