Nigeria to Contractors: All your outstanding payments will be made by December 20

*H.E. Engr. (Senator) David Umahi, Minister for Works, assures contractors under the aegis of the All Indigenous Contractors Association of Nigeria that all outstanding payments will be cleared before December 20, 2025

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

The Federal Government has assured the contractors under the aegis of the All Indigenous Contractors Association of Nigeria that all outstanding payments will be cleared before December 20, 2025.

The government Thursday, December 4, 2025, moved to calm rising tensions among road contractors, following days of protests over mounting debts and stalled project financing for contracts.

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Contractors handling Federal road projects, in the course of the week, staged protests at the Federal Ministry of Finance, alleging prolonged non-payment for completed in 2024, and other ongoing works.

The protesting contractors also placed a symbolic coffin at the entrance of the Ministry.

They said it represented the hardship and deaths some members of their Association had suffered due to the prolonged non-payment of their entitlements.

H. E. Engr. (Senator) David Umahi, Honourable Minister for Works, however, gave the assurance of payment of their outstanding claims by December 20 during the reopening of the repaired Keffi Flyover, in Nasarawa State.

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It is recalled the Keffi Flyover collapsed July 4, 3025, after a truck conveying an excavator damaged its structural components.

The Minister disclosed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had acknowledged the debt backlog, and approved the constitution of a special committee to verify and settle all outstanding claims.

The contractors, during the protests, claimed the Federal Government still owes them about N4 trillion.

They, nonetheless, are specifically demanding the release of N760 billion, which the Association said Mr. Wale Edun, Honourable Minister for Finance, had earlier pledged to pay September this year.

Umahi further said the affected contractors’ protests were no longer necessary, insisting that President Tinubu had directed that all verified debts be paid within days.

Some contractors on the Maraba–Keffi axis, including China Harbour Engineering Company, are among those yet to be paid but would be captured in the upcoming disbursement, the Minister assured.

He also noted: “Let me assure our contractors that Mr. President yesterday (Wednesday), in fact, recognised that you have been owed and is setting up a committee to review all the debts.

“Please, there should be no more protests. You will be paid; Mr. President has assured that you’ll be paid like the intervention we made on Maraba-Keffi.”

Umahi averred: “I know that two of the contractors have not been paid.

“But the President is aware, and efforts have been made, and before the 20th of December, you’ll be paid.”

Minister invites EFCC, ICPC for project audits

In a related development, Senator Umahi has said the Federal Ministry of Works, under his watch, formally invited the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to audit all completed and ongoing Federal road projects across the 36 states and the FCT.

The Minister said the measure was aimed at enhancing transparency, restoring public confidence, and ensuring that payments reflect actual work done at project sites.

He stated: “I wrote to ICPC and submitted all the projects of Mr. President and the Ministry of Works from the day I assumed office.

“We asked them to go through all the states and verify those projects. This is the first of its kind.”

Umahi affirmed “we have also sent the same list to EFCC. We are very transparent in what we are doing under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”

Meanwhile, Senator Umahi has said the Federal Government introduced an online platform for real-time monitoring of project status to allow citizens to track progress and raise concerns in this regard.

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