There was tension on Monday at the entrance of the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja as protesting indigenous contractors blocked the premises, preventing the Minister of State for Finance, Doris Uzoka-Anite, from entering the complex.
The protesters, operating under the banner of the All Indigenous Contractors Association of Nigeria, barricaded the main gate in protest over unpaid obligations allegedly owed by the Federal Government.
The contractors accused the federal government of failing to settle payments for completed projects and alleged that funds provided for this purpose in the 2024 and 2025 budgets had not been released.
They said the prolonged delay had pushed many of their members into financial distress.
Speaking during the protest, the President of the All Indigenous Contractors Association of Nigeria, Jackson Nwosu, said the renewed action was driven by mounting unpaid obligations, tightening cashflow conditions, rising loan defaults and the seizure of assets belonging to contractors who borrowed to execute government projects.
“The government has failed to honour the agreement to pay contractors whose project details had been submitted and verified. Payments finalised before the closure of the payment portal at the end of December were never reflected in our accounts,” Nwosu said.
He rejected claims by government officials that about 80 per cent of the outstanding debts had been settled, insisting that payments made so far covered no more than 30 to 40 per cent of verified claims.
Speaking during the protest, the President of the All Indigenous Contractors Association of Nigeria, Jackson Nwosu, said the renewed action was driven by mounting unpaid obligations, tightening cashflow conditions, rising loan defaults and the seizure of assets belonging to contractors who borrowed to execute government projects.
“The government has failed to honour the agreement to pay contractors whose project details had been submitted and verified. Payments finalised before the closure of the payment portal at the end of December were never reflected in our accounts,” Nwosu said.
He rejected claims by government officials that about 80 per cent of the outstanding debts had been settled, insisting that payments made so far covered no more than 30 to 40 per cent of verified claims.
The Secretary-General of the association, Babatunde Oyeniyi, said AICAN had formally engaged the Ministry of Finance, the National Assembly and other relevant agencies since June 2025 without any tangible outcome.
He warned that the continued neglect of indigenous contractors was hurting the domestic economy and worsening financial distress within the sector.
The association insisted that the protest would continue until all verified contract payments are fully settled, stressing that indigenous contractors should not be treated differently from foreign firms, whose payments, it alleged, are processed without delay.
Similar protests were staged last year at the National Assembly Complex and the Ministry of Finance as pressure mounted on the government to address the outstanding liabilities.
In December 2025, President Bola Tinubu constituted a multi-ministerial committee to address the debt owed to federal contractors, estimated at about N1.5tn.
Members of the committee include the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu; the Director-General of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu; the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi; the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa; and the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Zacch Adedeji.
Meanwhile, a Senate committee has also invited Edun to explain the circumstances surrounding the prolonged delay in settling the contractors’ claims.
The PUNCH earlier reported that the federal government budgeted N1.7tn in the 2026 Appropriation Bill to settle outstanding debts owed to contractors for capital projects executed in 2024.
A breakdown of the proposed 2026 national budget shows that the amount is captured under the line item titled “Provision for 2024 Outstanding Contractor’s Liabilities,” signalling official recognition of delayed payments to contractors amid recent protests over delayed settlements.
This budgetary provision follows mounting pressure from indigenous contractors and civil society groups who, in 2025, raised alarm over unpaid contractual obligations.
In addition to the N1.7tn for 2024 liabilities, the government has also budgeted N100bn for a separate line item labelled “Payment of Local Contractors’ Debts/Other Liabilities”, which may cover legacy debts from previous years, smaller contract claims, or unsettled financial commitments that were not fully verified in the current audit cycle.
The total N1.8tn allocation is part of the broader N23.2tn capital expenditure in the 2026 fiscal plan, which seeks to ramp up infrastructure delivery while cleaning up past obligations.
Source: punch
