The Association of Indigenous Contractors of Nigeria has confirmed that the federal government released a fresh tranche of funds to its members the previous week, offering some relief to firms that say they have gone unpaid for years. The association's president, Jackson Ifai, disclosed the development during a current affairs interview in Abuja, presenting it as a long-awaited step after a campaign the contractors have pursued for a long time.
According to Ifai, the Ministry of Finance released 40 billion naira to the association's beneficiaries, with the money arriving the previous week. He said his members had been preparing to stage a protest that Monday because the expected payment alerts had not come through over the weekend, only to realise afterwards that the disbursements had in fact begun.
The association president pushed back against wider accounts, which he said had been all over the air, suggesting that around 700 billion naira had been released to indigenous contractors. Ifai insisted that the amount reaching his members was 40 billion, and he questioned the official framing, noting that the public statement had described payments in a range that did not match what contractors on the ground actually received.
He explained that the bulk of the money went to firms holding smaller contracts. By his account, between 97 and 98 percent of the 40 billion was paid to contractors whose contracts were valued at 50 million naira or below, while many of those with larger contracts did not receive funds in this round. He suggested that any larger sum announced may have been spread to other categories, such as National Assembly contractors, rather than to his members.
Despite the release, Ifai said the outstanding debt remains enormous, estimating that members of the association are collectively owed more than a trillion naira. He linked part of the backlog to approvals that were never honoured, saying that payments cleared earlier, including some approved under the current Federal Capital Territory minister Nyesom Wike, had still not been paid to date.
The association president described the toll the delays have taken on contractors, many of whom financed government projects with bank loans. He said members were running at a loss under the weight of mounting interest, citing one colleague he said is paying 50 million naira every month in interest charges, and adding that some contractors had lost their health, property or even family members during the long wait for payment.
While welcoming the latest disbursement as a step in the right direction, Ifai appealed for more funds to be made available, directing his plea to the minister he said he had recently met and to the President. He stressed repeatedly that contractors are suffering and urged the government to keep its promises, warning that releasing money that is then swallowed by accumulated debt brings little real relief to those who built the projects with their own resources.