Hundreds of members of the All Indigenous Contractors Association of Nigeria (AICAN) on Wednesday stormed the Ministry of Finance in Abuja, demanding payment for completed capital projects valued at over ₦4 trillion.
The contractors accused the Federal Government of failing to settle debts for projects executed under the 2024 capital budget, a situation they said has pushed thousands of indigenous contractors into debt, financial distress, and even health crises.
Speaking during the protest, AICAN President, Jackson Nwosu, lamented that, despite government claims that payments for the 2024 capital projects had been made, less than one percent of indigenous contractors had been paid.
“We are dying. Financial institutions are on our necks every day because the government claims to have paid us, but they haven’t,” Nwosu said.
“They have been owing us since last year for over 2,024 capital projects. Out of more than 15,000 contractors, they have only paid about seven. Yet, they go around claiming all payments have been settled. If that were true, we wouldn’t be on the streets.”
He revealed that many members had lost their lives while waiting for payment, while others were unable to pay school fees, meet obligations to banks, or keep their businesses afloat.
The group also alleged that ministries and agencies had stopped forwarding payment approvals to the Ministry of Finance due to a funding freeze, further compounding the backlog.
Also speaking, AICAN National Secretary, Babatunde Seun, accused government officials of insincerity and selective payment.
“They always pay just one or two people and leave the rest. We met with the Finance Minister and the Accountant-General, who assured us of payments within 48 hours, but nothing has happened.
Some of us have lost our cars and properties to banks. We cannot even pay our workers or our children’s school fees,” he said.
Seun appealed directly to President Bola Tinubu, recalling his past as a contractor and urging him to intervene personally.
“If he instructs the Finance Minister to pay today, the money will be released. But if this continues, frustration will push more Nigerians out of the country. All we are asking is to be paid for the work we have done.”
One of the protesters, Davison Ahamefule, shared his personal ordeal, saying he executed a contract in 2011 but received only half payment two years later.
“The project was verified, but since then, nothing has been paid. The interest from banks has swallowed everything. I am pleading with the government to pay us,” he said.
The contractors warned that while they have refrained from legal action in hopes of an amicable resolution, they may be forced to seek redress in court if the deadlock persists.
