Prison contractors decry debt for inmate feeding

Prisons officers

Some contractors in charge of supplying food to inmates in correctional centres across the country have raised the alarm over alleged Federal Government’s failure to pay outstanding debts amounting to more than N30bn.

Two of the contractors, who claimed to have supplied meals to facilities under the Nigerian Correctional Service, stated that they had been owed for several months, including a backlog of approximately N7.7bn from late 2023, in addition to an unimplemented feeding rate approved since August 2024.

They also lamented that despite the government’s approval to increase the daily feeding allowance per inmate from N750 to N1,125, payments had continued at the old rate, creating a N23bn shortfall.

Concerns have emerged following the government’s inability to implement a revised feeding allowance approved over a year ago.

In August 2024, the Presidency approved an upward review of the daily feeding allowance for inmates from N750 to N1,125 per inmate, an adjustment due to rising food prices and the ripple effects of fuel subsidy removal.

The revised rate, which was expected to take effect from August 1, 2024, was aimed at improving the quality of meals provided in correctional centres and easing financial pressure on contractors.

Over a year later, suppliers lamented that the reviewed rate remained unimplemented, leaving them to operate under the old payment structure. Punch