The All Indigenous Contractors Association of Nigeria on Tuesday threatened to stage a protest at the upcoming national convention of the All Progressives Congress over alleged unpaid debts owed to its members by the Federal Government.
Speaking in Abuja during the resumption of the contractors’ protest, AICAN National President, Jackson Nwosu, demanded the immediate payment of N150bn within 48 hours, describing the sum as part of earlier commitments made by the government following protests between December 2025 and January 2026.
Nwosu said the government had only paid N21bn within the period, leaving over N1tn outstanding to contractors.
“For AICAN members, the government has only paid N21bn between this period in question. What is remaining to be paid is over N1tn, but what we are discussing as the immediate payment we need is N150bn.
“Our immediate demand is for the payment to be made between now and the next two days, and if not, the planned APC national convention in Abuja will not be successful.
“We will stage our protest at the APC convention venue. We will be there and make sure it is known to the world that this government is deceptive. What we want them to pay immediately is N150bn, and they have committed to do that,” he said.
Nwosu noted that the association was already in talks with officials of the Ministry of Finance and expected the funds to be paid directly into members’ accounts.
Also speaking, AICAN National Secretary, Babatunde Seun, said members were frustrated by what he described as repeated delays and unfulfilled promises by the Federal Government.
He alleged that the extension of the 2024 budget implementation from December 2025 to March 2026 contributed to the delay in payments, adding that no additional funds had been released since the last protest in January.
“What AICAN has received as an association of contractors is N21bn as part of the list of payments finalised in December 2025. A lot of our members are dying as a result of this debt the Federal Government owes members,” Seun said.
He claimed that one of the contractors died after being unable to fund medical treatment, despite being owed more than N100m.
Seun further alleged that the government was attempting to move the contractors to the Debt Management Office for settlement, a move he said the association would resist.
He also urged the Federal Government to prioritise the payment of the N150bn demand, claiming that the total outstanding debt to indigenous contractors stood at about N1.15tn.
The PUNCH reports that the APC convention is scheduled for March 27–28, 2026.