178
By Daniel Adaji
The All Indigenous Contractors Association of Nigeria (AICAN) has accused the President Bola Tinubu-led government of impoverishing local contractors by refusing to pay for capital projects executed in 2024, leaving many indebted, destitute, and some reportedly dead due to financial hardship.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, the National President of AICAN, Jackson Ifeanyi, described the situation as “grave injustice,” accusing the Federal Government of deliberately denying indigenous contractors their rightful payments despite commissioning completed projects for public display.
“We, the Indigenous Contractors under the auspices of the All Indigenous Contractors Association of Nigeria (AICAN), wish to draw the attention of the Nigerian public, the international community, and all relevant stakeholders to the unfair and unbearable conditions our members are being subjected to by the Federal Government of Nigeria,” Ifeanyi said.
He explained that many of their members executed 2024 capital projects with borrowed funds, trusting the government’s assurance of prompt payment upon completion. “Unfortunately, the Government has failed to honour these contractual agreements but commissioned these projects to look good in the eyes of the public without paying the indigenous contractors who made them possible,” he stated.
Ifeanyi warned that indigenous contractors could no longer bear the weight of debts and economic hardship caused by government’s failure to fulfill its financial obligations.
“This is grave injustice. This Government continues to lure contractors into projects it has no intention of funding while prioritising projects that serve the personal interests of certain officials,” he said.
He added that the association would begin continuous demonstrations across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) if all outstanding payments were not made before the end of the week. “We shall embark on continuous demonstrations across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), displaying our demands and exposing this injustice to the world,” he said.
The AICAN president further advised members to desist from taking on any new 2025 capital or recurrent projects unless mobilisation funds are released upfront.
Expressing frustration over institutional silence, Ifeanyi noted that both the National Assembly and other oversight bodies had failed to intervene in their plight. He said, “The National Assembly who suppose to call the executive to order in this instance and other oversight bodies have turned blind eyes to our plight. We were informed through the office of the Accountant General of the Federation that warrant of Seven Hundred and Sixty billion Naira was released without cash backing for about two months.”
He blamed the Tinubu-led administration for bankrupting many local contractors, saying, “This current administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has bankrupted all of our local contractors through nonpayments of 2024 capital projects executed so far.”
AICAN’s Vice President, Fredrick Agada, also accused the government of favouring foreign companies at the expense of local contractors. “While foreign contractors are cashing out, our members are dying in penury. We will do all that is necessary to fight for our rights,” Agada said.
Another member of the association, a person with disability, Abu Joseph, decried the delayed payments, noting that over 100 of his staff, including people with disabilities, had been left stranded. He called on the government to “do the needful” and rescue local contractors from collapse.
AICAN appealed to the media, civil society organisations, and international partners to join in their demand for payment, transparency, accountability, and fairness in project financing and execution in Nigeria.
The contractors maintain that their patience has reached its limit, accusing the government of economic betrayal that has destroyed livelihoods and pushed many indigenous contractors into poverty and death.