Contractors say billions owed for completed government projects have left families destitute and businesses collapsed, urging Governor Uzodimma and lawmakers to act immediately.
By Joy Onu
A simmering dispute over unpaid public contracts has again drawn attention to governance and accountability in Imo State, as hundreds of local contractors accuse successive administrations of abandoning financial obligations running into billions of naira. The contractors say government projects they executed years ago remain unsettled, a situation they warn has pushed many of them into economic ruin and prolonged uncertainty.
According to documents and testimonies presented by the contractors, the disputed contracts were awarded between 2011 and 2019 during the administration of former governor Rochas Okorocha. They insist that the projects were fully executed and later subjected to multiple verification exercises by government-appointed committees, including a judicial panel of inquiry and an ad hoc committee of the Imo State House of Assembly.
Despite these layers of review, the contractors maintain that payment never followed. Some allege that the House committee’s report was never formally published, leaving them without clarity on the status of their claims and effectively shutting the door to administrative remedies.
Over time, the financial strain reportedly took a heavy toll. Several contractors say mounting debts forced their businesses to shut down, while others lost personal properties to banks and creditors. Within the group are accounts of prolonged illness linked to financial stress, and claims that some contractors died while waiting for funds they believed had long been approved.
The issue resurfaced recently at a public hearing of the National Assembly, where the House of Representatives committee chaired by Kwamoti Britrus received petitions on February 5, 2026.
Legal counsel to the contractors, Barrister Sola Egbeyinka of Ndarani Chambers, told lawmakers that the prolonged non-payment had become a humanitarian concern. He said several of his clients were currently hospitalised without the means to fund medical treatment, while others had died after years of waiting. He appealed to the Imo State Government, led by Governor Hope Uzodimma, to urgently intervene and bring closure to the matter.
Speaking on behalf of the contractors, Engr. Dr. Sylvester Anyikwa, Chief Administrative Officer of the Imo State Contractors, said the group had exhausted all legal and administrative channels available to them. He noted that their appeal was no longer just about money but about restoring dignity to citizens who executed public work in good faith.
The dispute has also been framed in moral terms by some of the affected contractors. Pastor Great Nwoke said the continued delay contradicted the long-held principle that labour deserves fair compensation, noting that the contractors had completed their assignments in good faith. Another contractor, Madam Chiwendu Ezenwata, popularly known as Mama G, said she remained hopeful that the government would eventually act responsibly and resolve the matter.
With patience wearing thin, the contractors are now calling on the Imo State Government, the National Assembly, anti-corruption agencies, and civil society organisations to compel immediate settlement of the ₦15.9 billion liability, warning that continued delay could deepen hardship and worsen the human toll already associated with the prolonged dispute.
