๐ ๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ญ๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ง ๐ฎ๐ง๐ฉ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐๐๐ญ๐ฌ
Local contractors under the All Indigenous Contractors Association of Nigeria on Tuesday blocked both entrances of the Federal Ministry of Finance, demanding immediate payment of alleged long-overdue debts for completed government projects.
Led by the associationโs National Secretary, Babatunde Seun-Oyeniyi, the protesters accused the Federal Government of shifting its stance despite earlier commitments made during meetings facilitated by the National Assembly.
Speaking at the ministryโs entrance, Oyeniyi said the governmentโs repeated failure to release fundsโdespite several assurancesโforced members to resume demonstrations. He said the contractors were owed more than N500bn for completed and commissioned projects.
He noted that despite recent assurances from the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, no payments had been made. โAfter the National Assembly intervened, they told us they would sit the minister down over this matter, and we stopped our protest,โ he said.
According to him, several follow-up visits yielded no progress. โMore than six times we have come here. Last week, we were here all night before the minister arrived,โ he added.
Oyeniyi said contractors were confused by the persistent delays even after the minister reportedly confirmed that about N150bn was available for disbursement. Yet, he lamented, the funds remained unreleased.
He explained that although payment warrants had been sighted, they were not backed with cash. โThey owe more than N500bn. We only see warrants; there is no cash,โ he said.
The group alleged that officials were attempting to push the payments into the 2026 fiscal year. โThey want to shift us into a backlog. They will turn us into debt, and we donโt want that. We wonโt leave here until we are paid,โ Oyeniyi stated.
Contractors also claimed that Minister Edun had referred them back to the National Assembly, which earlier mediated the dispute. The blockade left ministry workers and visitors stranded as both gates remained shut during the protest.
