Operations at the Federal Ministry of Finance headquarters were disrupted on Monday as members of the Indigenous Contractors Association of Nigeria (ICAN) barricaded the main entrance to protest the government’s failure to pay for completed projects.

The demonstration, which caused significant gridlock and reduced traffic flow around the building to a single lane, saw contractors carrying placards with messages such as: “Don’t pay 2025 until you finish paying the 2024 budget that has been completed.”

The association claims the Federal Government owes over N500 billion to indigenous contractors nationwide and is demanding immediate payment.

Speaking to journalists at the protest site, ICAN General Secretary Mr. Babatunde Seun Oyeniyi declared that the contractors would not back down until their demands were met.

Oyeniyi recounted the association’s previous efforts to resolve the matter. He noted that a three-day protest held from November 4 to 6 was suspended only after the intervention of the National Assembly, which promised to engage the Minister of Finance on their behalf.

“After the National Assembly intervened, we stopped the protest. But since then, despite several follow-up meetings, our payment status has not changed,” he said. “We have been here more than six times. Last week, we stayed through the night before the Minister of Finance arrived.”

The contractors say they were informed that N150 billion was available for disbursement to indigenous contractors, yet no payments have been made.
“Warrants may have been issued, but there is no cash backing,” Oyeniyi said. “When we did our collation, the government owes more than N500 billion. We only see warrants; no funds have been released.”

He expressed fears that the government intends to shift their payments to the next fiscal year.
“They want to put us into a backlog and move our payments to 2026. We don’t want that. We won’t leave here until we are paid,” he insisted.

According to Oyeniyi, the Finance Minister has since referred the matter back to the National Assembly, leaving the contractors frustrated and uncertain about when the debt will be cleared.

As of press time, the blockade at the ministry remained in place, with no official response yet issued by the Ministry of Finance.