Local contractors staged a protest on Monday at the entrance of the federal ministry of finance in Abuja, blocking Doris Uzoka-Anite, minister of state for finance, from entering the premises.
The demonstrators, operating under the banner of the All Indigenous Contractors Association of Nigeria (AICAN), obstructed the ministry’s gate over unpaid debts allegedly owed by the federal government.
Tension escalated when security operatives attempted to clear a path for Uzoka-Anite’s convoy, a move the protesters resisted.
“How many people government go kill ooo… how many people government go kill,” the protesters chanted in unison during the standoff.
A gunshot was heard amid the confrontation as security personnel tried to disperse the crowd.
The contractors accused the federal government of failing to settle payments for completed projects.
They also alleged that funds appropriated for their claims in the 2024 and 2025 budgets had not been released.
The protest followed earlier demonstrations by the group last year at the National Assembly complex and the finance ministry over the same grievances.
In December 2025, President Bola Tinubu constituted a multi-ministerial committee to address the debt, estimated at about N1.5 trillion, owed to federal contractors.
Members of the committee include Wale Edun, minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, Atiku Bagudu, minister of budget and economic planning, Tanimu Yakubu, director-general of the budget office, Dave Umahi, minister of works, Ahmed Dangiwa, minister of housing and urban development, and Zacch Adedeji, chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS).
A senate committee has also summoned Edun to explain the circumstances surrounding the delay in settling the contractors’ payments.