Contractors Block Finance Minister Uzoka-Anite Over 2024 Unpaid Government Debts
Tension erupted at the Ministry of Finance on Monday as local contractors staged a protest, blocking the Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, from entering her office. The demonstration was sparked by alleged unpaid debts owed to contractors by the Bola Tinubu-led government for projects completed in 2024.
Protesters, operating under the All Indigenous Contractors Association of Nigeria (AICAN), barricaded the ministry’s main gate, preventing staff and visitors from accessing the building. Security operatives attached to the minister attempted to clear a path, but the contractors resisted, forming a human barricade and chanting slogans demanding payment.
During the standoff, tension escalated when a gunshot was reportedly fired into the air by security personnel to disperse the crowd, causing panic. A protest leader also alleged that the minister’s driver attempted to run over a contractor who was lying on the ground.
The contractors claim that funds allocated for verified contract payments in the 2024 and 2025 budgets have not been released, leaving many facing bank defaults, asset seizures, and severe cash-flow challenges. According to AICAN, the group has staged multiple protests at the Ministry of Finance and the National Assembly to draw attention to the unpaid obligations, with little progress.
A Senate committee has reportedly engaged authorities over the delayed payments, but the contractors insist that no concrete solution has been provided. They vowed to maintain their presence at the ministry until their demands are met.
The protest highlights the ongoing struggles of local contractors in Nigeria, as delayed government payments continue to impact businesses and livelihoods, raising concerns over fiscal accountability and project management within the public sector.
الأقسام
إقرأ المزيد
The Rivers State Executive Council has revoked a ₦134 billion contract for the reconstruction of the State Secretariat complex in Port Harcourt, originally awarded to the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) under the former sole administrator, Vice Admiral Ikot Ete Ibas (retd.) The decision, reached during the Council’s meeting on Thursday, effectively nullified the...
The identity of the 13-year-old boy allegedly shot and killed by operatives of Operation Udo Ga-Achi in Onitsha South Local Government Area, Anambra State, has been revealed as Fabian Ugo. Speaking to Sunday Vanguard, the grieving family expressed their anguish and vowed to seek justice for Fabian. According to the family, the pain of the loss is even deeper because the boy was not involved in...
Member of the Rivers Elders Forum, Ann-Kio Briggs, has accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of betraying Rivers people by failing to act decisively during prolonged political crises in the state. Speaking on Channels Television, she lamented that despite Rivers’ loyalty to the PDP since 1999, the party allowed internal divisions to weaken its influence and worsen the state’s...
When I first came from Kogi to Lagos, my uncle told me, “Once you reach Ojota, just look for a bus going to Ikorodu Garage.” Simple, right? I thought so too. I got to Ojota and started listening carefully to the bus conductors. One was shouting “Berger! Berger!” Another was yelling “Ketu! Mile 12!” But the one I was waiting for Ikorodu Garage, never...
Prosecutors from the Delta State Ministry of Justice have admitted they lack witnesses in the cyberstalking case against detained child rights activist, Comrade Ighorhiohwunu Aghogho. The admission came on Monday, June 16, before Justice H.A. Nganjiwa at the Federal High Court in Warri, during the resumed hearing of Federal Republic of Nigeria v. Ighorhiohwunu Aghogho (Charge No:...
