…Says only N40bn has been disbursed
By Seun Ibiyemi
Members of the All Indigenous Contractors Association of Nigeria (AICAN) on Tuesday staged a protest at the Federal Ministry of Finance headquarters in Abuja, alleging that only ₦40 billion has been paid to local contractors despite government claims of a ₦700 billion debt clearance programme.
The contractors challenged official reports that about ₦700 billion had been disbursed to 1,240 contractors, insisting that the actual amount released was significantly lower and had only benefited a limited category of contractors.
The protest, which drew contractors from different parts of the country, was marked by demands for transparency, accountability and the immediate settlement of outstanding debts owed by the Federal Government.
Tension heightened at the ministry premises as protesters displayed a large banner directed at the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, indicating their intention to sustain the protest if their demands were not addressed.
The banner read: “Taiwo Oyedele, we’ll be your tenant for the next 30 days at the Ministry of Finance.”
Speaking on behalf of the protesters, AICAN Correspondent and contractor, Mr. Innocent Michael Asuelimen, alleged that the government still owes contractors more than ₦4 trillion for projects executed across the country.
According to him, while government officials have repeatedly announced that ₦700 billion had been paid to contractors since 2024, only about ₦40 billion has actually been released to beneficiaries.
“So the government is owing over ₦4 trillion. What they have succeeded in doing so far since we started our agitation is that they have been able to pay contractors ₦700 billion since 2024 till date,” he said.
However, Asuelimen maintained that the reality on the ground does not reflect the figures being presented publicly.
“Just last week, the government approved only ₦40 billion to pay 1,240 contractors, with individual disbursements capped between ₦0 and ₦50 million,” he stated.
He said the discrepancy between official claims and actual payments has exposed many contractors to pressure from creditors and financial institutions.
“We have been getting calls from creditors and banks because they saw reports that government paid ₦700 billion to contractors,” he said.
According to him, many indigenous contractors financed government projects using personal savings and bank loans after the 2024 budget was approved, alleging that several projects were executed without upfront government funding.
“The government did not fund with one penny. The contractors you are seeing agitating today used their personal funds,” he said.
Asuelimen further claimed that some contractors secured loans from commercial banks to execute projects awarded by government agencies, a situation he described as unprecedented.
“Some of them went to the bank to borrow money to fund the budget, which is unprecedented in the history of this country,” he added.
He lamented that many contractors remain unpaid more than two years after completing their projects.
“This is 2026 and we are stuck till date,” he said.
Another protester, Mr. Sunday G., also rejected the reported ₦700 billion payment figure, describing it as inaccurate.
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“The news about the 1,240 contractors being paid is false. Even if they paid us 40 per cent, we would not be here protesting,” he said.
The contractors demanded the immediate release of the approved ₦40 billion for small-scale beneficiaries and called for a transparent and structured repayment framework for all outstanding debts owed by the Federal Government.
They also urged the Ministry of Finance and other relevant government agencies to convene an urgent meeting with contractors to clarify payment records and address concerns over the growing financial burden facing indigenous firms.
The protesters warned that failure to address their grievances could further threaten the survival of local contracting businesses and undermine confidence in government procurement and project financing processes.
