Tension flared on Monday at the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja as protesting indigenous contractors blocked the main entrance of the complex, temporarily preventing the Minister of State for Finance, Doris Uzoka-Anite, from accessing the premises.
The protesters, under the umbrella of the All Indigenous Contractors Association of Nigeria (AICAN), said the demonstration was to protest the Federal Government’s alleged failure to pay outstanding debts for completed projects, despite budgetary provisions made in the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years.
They claimed that the prolonged delay in fund disbursement has pushed many indigenous contractors into severe financial distress, with several facing loan defaults and the seizure of personal and corporate assets used as collateral for government contracts.
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Speaking during the protest, AICAN President, Jackson Nwosu, said the action was prompted by mounting unpaid obligations and worsening cashflow challenges across the sector.
“The government has failed to honour its agreement to pay contractors whose project details were duly submitted and verified,” Nwosu said. “Payments that were finalised before the closure of the payment portal at the end of December never reflected in our accounts.”
He rejected claims by government officials that up to 80 per cent of outstanding contractor debts had been settled, insisting that actual payments covered no more than 30 to 40 per cent of verified claims.
Nwosu further alleged that the issuance of payment warrants stopped in May 2025, even as contractors continued to execute government projects, pushing total outstanding liabilities to over ₦4 trillion.
As Uzoka-Anite arrived at the ministry, security operatives attempted to clear a path for her convoy, but protesters resisted, chanting slogans and refusing to disperse. During the standoff, a gunshot was reportedly fired as security personnel sought to break up the crowd, escalating tension at the scene.
Reacting to the incident, AICAN Vice President, Fredrick Agada, accused authorities of resorting to intimidation rather than dialogue.
“This is a peaceful protest. We are harmless. We are simply sitting down and demanding payment for work already done,” he said.
The association’s Secretary-General, Babatunde Oyeniyi, said AICAN had formally engaged the Ministry of Finance, the National Assembly and other relevant agencies since June 2025 without meaningful progress. He warned that continued neglect of indigenous contractors was harming the domestic economy and worsening hardship within the sector.
The contractors vowed to sustain the protest until all verified payments are fully settled, insisting that indigenous firms should not be treated differently from foreign contractors, whose payments they claim are processed without delay.
The protest comes amid growing pressure on the Federal Government to clear outstanding contractor debts. In December 2025, President Bola Tinubu inaugurated a multi-ministerial committee to address liabilities estimated at about ₦1.5 trillion.
The committee includes 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.
In the 2026 Appropriation Bill, the Federal Government earmarked ₦1.7 trillion for the settlement of contractor liabilities from 2024, alongside an additional ₦100 billion for other local contractors’ debts. The ₦1.8 trillion allocation forms part of the proposed ₦23.2 trillion capital expenditure for the 2026 fiscal year.
Despite these provisions, contractors insist that disbursements have been slow, warning that continued delays could disrupt infrastructure delivery and further erode confidence in government contracting processes.
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