Socio-political activist Aisha Yesufu has called for the enactment of a law that would compel all tiers of government in Nigeria to settle contractors’ invoices within 30 days of project completion or service delivery.
Yesufu made the proposal in a post shared on her official social media page, arguing that persistent delays in the payment of contractors have negatively impacted businesses, slowed infrastructure development, and hindered job creation across the country.
According to her, any payment that remains outstanding beyond the proposed 30-day deadline should attract mandatory interest calculated at the prevailing Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), plus an additional five per cent.
“There is a need for a strong, enforceable law that compels every tier of government to pay contractors all due invoices within 30 days, with mandatory interest on any delayed payment,” she stated.
The activist lamented that many contractors execute projects and deliver services as agreed, only to face prolonged delays in receiving payment from government agencies.
“Contractors will deliver on their work only for governments to delay payments for months or years, pushing many businesses into distress and liquidation,” Yesufu said.
She noted that the proposed legislation would help eliminate what she described as the practice of governments using contractors as an unofficial source of credit.
“No more using contractors as unwilling bankers,” she added.
Yesufu further maintained that delayed payments remain a major obstacle to economic growth, timely infrastructure delivery, and employment generation, stressing that prompt settlement of contractors’ invoices would improve business confidence and strengthen the nation’s economy.
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