Folalumi Alaran in Abuja
Members of the Association of Indigenous Contractors of Nigeria (AICAN) on Wednesday staged a peaceful protest at the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja over unpaid debts for completed government projects running into hundreds of billions of Naira.
Speaking at the protest, AICAN President Jackson Nwosu said contractors were still in the same position they were weeks ago despite a meeting with the new Minister of Finance, Oyedele Taiwo, about two weeks ago.
“We met with him and he promised to make payments to us last week Friday, 08/04/2026. But that has passed now,” Nwosu said. “We were asked to come for payments for our members, only for us to notice that payments were released to others.”
Nwosu said the association is owed over ₦1trillion in total, with nearly still outstanding after partial payments. He added that the ministry had earlier promised to release about ₦500 billion.
“We were told by Friday they will do something, that by 2024 payments will be cleared and most of the payment will be made. But as we speak now, we are back here for a peaceful protest,” he said.
The contractors said they were scheduled for a meeting with ministry officials before 10 a.m. and would decide their next line of action after the outcome.
“If the payment is not done, we will know the next step to take after the meeting,” Nwosu said.
He said the non-payment was taking a severe toll on members, with many losing property and struggling to care for their families.
“A lot of our members have lost their property. Most of our members will be going to Lagos and we are going to take care of our members. A lot of us cannot even take care of our peers. Some of us are washed away because there is no money to take care of you,” he said.
AICAN has repeatedly accused the government of failing to clear liabilities for projects executed in 2024, and has staged several protests in Abuja over the issue. The group says the delays are crippling businesses and livelihoods of indigenous contractors nationwide.
The Ministry of Finance had not issued an official response at the time of filing this report.
