Abdulwahab Isa 
For the umpteenth time, local contractors on Tuesday stormed the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja, protesting over what they described as lingering unpaid funds for jobs already executed.
The demonstration, which began early in the morning, disrupted official activities as movement in and out of the ministry was restricted. Vehicular traffic was also affected, with motorists forced to use a single lane due to the large crowd of demonstrators.
The contractors carried placards with various inscriptions while chanting solidarity songs at the entrance of the ministry. One of the placards read: “Don’t pay 2025 until you finish paying the 2024 budget that has been completed.”
Speaking with journalists, the General Secretary of the association, Babatunde Seun Oyeniyi, said the contractors would not suspend the protest until the Federal Government fulfils its obligations.
According to him, the Minister of Finance has repeatedly referred them back to the National Assembly without providing a concrete solution.
“They have not responded to our request. We embarked on a three-day protest from November 4th to 6th. After the National Assembly intervened, they told us they would sit the Minister down over this matter, and we immediately suspended the protest,” Oyeniyi said.
He added that despite several meetings — more than six, according to him — no payment has been made.
“Last week, we stayed here throughout the night before the Minister of Finance came,” he said.
Oyeniyi explained that the contractors had agreed with the minister that payments would begin immediately from the N150 billion reportedly available.
“From our last conversation, he told us that up to N150 billion was ready to pay indigenous contractors. We don’t know why there is still a delay,” he said.
He insisted that the Federal Government owes indigenous contractors more than N500 billion, adding that while warrants are being issued, they are not being cash-backed.
“The problem is that they want to push us into a backlog. They want to shift payment to 2026 and turn our claims into debt, which we reject. We won’t leave here until we are paid,” Oyeniyi stated.
