A group of contractors working for the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has accused the Nyesom Wike-led administration of withholding a staggering ₦5.2 billion in payments for completed contracts.
The contractors say every project was inspected, certified complete and approved yet the final payments have never been signed off by the Minister.
Tensions boiled on Tuesday morning when the aggrieved contractors blocked the entrance to the Minister’s office in protest.
The demonstration drew a swift and forceful response: police officers reportedly fired tear gas to disperse the crowd — leaving many contractors gasping for air.
According to the protesters, the crackdown occurred under direct orders from Minister Wike.
The withheld amount calculated at precisely ₦5,211,503,589.50 represents a range of services delivered between September 2023 and May 2024, including drain and sewage works, medical supplies procurement, borehole drilling, school furniture supply, and other public-works contracts.
The contractors say they followed all due procedures: every job was verified by relevant FCTA departments, cleared, and forwarded for payment, but the Minister allegedly refused to endorse the final release.
Contractors claim the prolonged non-payment has caused severe hardship. Some say they borrowed heavily to carry out the contracts. A few have died — reportedly from stress-related illnesses such as hypertension and depression.
Others have lost homes, suffered breakdown of marriages or “lost their sanity.” One contractor alleged a pregnant woman lost her child after repeatedly appealing to FCTA officials for her payment.
In perhaps the most distressing account, a contractor named Mr. Benson Ehuwa reportedly sent a WhatsApp message to Wike asking for his due payment so he could send his children back to school.
Instead of receiving help, he was allegedly insulted by the Minister, handed over to police, and charged with “harassing a public official” — despite site inspections confirming that he delivered the contracted work.
Meanwhile, the protest was not the first. On August 15, 2024, the same group staged what they described as a peaceful, “silent protest” at the FCTA Secretariat.
They said they merely stood with banners — did not block roads, did not chant slogans — but were met with tear gas, batons and riot shields when police intervened. Some officers reportedly admitted privately that they had orders to “disperse them, no negotiation.”
The contractors claim they have written repeatedly to the Minister, appealed to his aides, and even sought intervention from the Presidency. They say the President urged Wike to release the funds — but alleged he ignored it.
They also say they petitioned the leadership of both the Senate and the House of Representatives — again to no avail. As their chairman put it: “What crime did we commit? That we delivered our contracts?”
However, the situation has now escalated into a major public issue, with calls for accountability growing louder. They insist they will continue to push for payment through legal and civil channels until the matter is resolved.