Hundreds of local contractors stormed the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja on Tuesday morning, barricading both entrances and vowing not to leave until the government releases more than ₦500 billion owed for completed and commissioned federal projects.
Members of the All Indigenous Contractors Association of Nigeria, waving placards and singing solidarity songs, accused the administration of President Bola Tinubu of repeatedly breaking promises on settlement of the debts.
“We have been here more than six times. Last week we spent the entire night at these gates,” said Babatunde Seun-Oyeniyi, National Secretary of the association. “The Minister of Finance, Mr Wale Edun, personally told us that at least ₦150 billion was already available for immediate payment to indigenous contractors, yet nothing has been transferred. We only see payment warrants on paper – no cash has reached any contractor’s account.”
The protesters said the government now appears to be deliberately pushing the debts into the 2026 budget cycle in order to reclassify them as part of the national debt backlog – a move the contractors described as unacceptable.
“Turning verified, completed jobs into sovereign debt is fraud,” one banner read. Others carried grim messages: “Many contractors have committed suicide because of these debts” and “Banks no longer finance government projects because of non-payment.”
Ministry staff and visitors were trapped for several hours as the two main gates remained sealed by demonstrators chanting “Wale Edun pay us! Tinubu pay us!” and “Na our money we need!”
The latest protest follows a similar disruption in November when contractors forced the House of Representatives to suspend plenary for a week after invading the National Assembly complex.
At that time, lawmakers intervened and extracted assurances from the executive that payments would begin immediately. Contractors say those commitments have been ignored.
Despite repeated meetings with Minister Edun and other senior officials, no funds have been released, the protesters claimed. They also accused the ministry of now directing them back to the National Assembly instead of honouring the earlier mediation agreement.
As of Tuesday evening, the Ministry of Finance had not released any official statement on the protest, and officials inside the building declined to comment.
The standoff has once again highlighted the severe cash-flow crisis facing thousands of small and medium-scale indigenous construction firms, many of which took bank loans at high interest rates to execute federal projects only to wait years for reimbursement.
