Indigenous contractors stage an angry protest at the Finance Ministry over long-delayed N500bn payment for completed government projects

Local contractors under the All Indigenous Contractors Association of Nigeria on Tuesday launched an angry protest at the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja, blocking both entrances as they demanded immediate payment of what they described as long-overdue project debts.

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The demonstration centred on claims that the government had withheld more than N500bn owed for completed and commissioned works.

National Secretary of the association Babatunde Seun-Oyeniyi told journalists that the contractors angry protest became necessary after the Federal Government failed to honour repeated assurances.

He said officials had shifted their position many times despite earlier meetings and interventions by senior policymakers.

Oyeniyi said the group resumed protests because the government had not released funds promised during discussions with Minister of Finance Wale Edun.

He noted that expectations rose after the National Assembly stepped in, but no payment followed.

He said the association had held several follow-up meetings with the minister, including an overnight wait at the ministry last week.

The secretary said members remained confused by the continued delay even after Edun reportedly confirmed that a portion of the funds was available.

He said contractors understood that about N150bn could be disbursed immediately, yet no transfer had reached them.

Oyeniyi added that although payment warrants had surfaced, they carried no cash backing.

He accused officials of attempting to push the debt into the 2026 fiscal cycle and warned that contractors would not leave the ministry’s gates until they received bank-credited payments.

The standoff left ministry staff and visitors stranded as protesters held firm at both entrances.

Many carried placards highlighting their frustrations, including messages about banks losing confidence, contractors facing financial ruin, and families struggling under the weight of unpaid government debts.

Some demonstrators displayed harsher banners accusing the government of injustice and fraud, while others chanted songs demanding payment from Edun and President Bola Tinubu.

Tensions between contractors and the government have grown in recent months. In November, the House of Representatives suspended plenary for one week after a similar protest erupted at the National Assembly Complex over delayed releases of 2024 and 2025 budgeted funds.

Officials at the finance ministry declined to comment on Tuesday’s protest and offered no indication of when the long-pending payments might be made.