The contractors said that despite repeated promises by the administration to offset the debts, no payments have been made.
Local contractors under the All Indigenous Contractors Association of Nigeria have condemned the non-payment for projects completed under the 2024 capital expenditure of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
According to the contractors, although the government has repeatedly assured them that the debts would be cleared, no funds have been released.
Several affected contractors explained that even after multiple meetings between the association’s leadership and the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, the situation has not improved.
One contractor stated that despite all the discussions held with the Finance Minister, nothing has changed.
They expressed frustration that despite reports of increased government revenue, the authorities have failed to meet contractual obligations or settle outstanding payments owed to contractors who have completed their work.
In September, the contractors held a protest at the headquarters of the Ministry of Finance in Abuja, demanding payment for capital projects delivered in 2024 amounting to about four trillion naira.
During the protest, the association’s secretary, Babatunde Seun, said they had earlier met with the Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, and the Finance Minister regarding the delayed payments, but no solution had been provided.
He noted that out of the five thousand contractors expecting payment, only five members had received any funds.
He added that they would remain on the streets until all contractors were paid, saying they were prepared to stay for as long as necessary, even until December. He stated that they could no longer cope with the hardship created by the delays.
Many contractors, he said, had run out of business, money, and options. With schools reopening soon, some were unable to pay their children’s fees, a struggle that had carried over from the previous term.
On November 4, the House of Representatives suspended plenary for a week after protests by local contractors over unpaid project funds dating back to 2024.
This followed a motion of urgent national importance introduced by the Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda, who highlighted the severe hardship contractors were facing.
While moving the motion, Chinda pointed out that the protest, which obstructed access to the National Assembly, resulted from the government’s failure to implement President Tinubu’s directive instructing the Ministers of Finance and Budget to immediately pay local contractors.
He reminded lawmakers that the protesters were Nigerians who had completed government projects but had not been compensated, causing significant hardship that Parliament needed to address.
Earlier findings from a public payments database showed that the Presidency spent over five billion naira on vehicles within a span of 21 days between August 18 and September 9, 2024.
The records indicated that on August 18, the State House spent 3.4 billion naira to acquire sixteen new Toyota Prado vehicles for official use in Abuja, amounting to about two hundred and twelve million naira per vehicle.
On September 9, an additional 1.7 billion naira was spent on ten Toyota Camry 2023 models for the State House.
A broader review showed that the administration spent 9.2 billion naira on vehicles between March and May 2024.
Further analysis revealed that on July 17, 2024, the State House spent approximately 1.5 billion naira on foreign exchange purchases made through multiple separate transactions.
In total, the State House spent 1.562 billion naira on forex purchases on that single day.
