FG Pays 1,000 Contractors, More Payments Pending

FG Pays 1,000 Contractors, More Payments Pending

The Federal Government paid more than 1,000 contractors in recent weeks as it moved to ease mounting pressure over unpaid project debts, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has said.

However, a senior official at the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation on Thursday said that some of the approved payments had yet to receive cash backing, indicating that the government’s efforts to settle outstanding obligations may still face implementation delays.

The payment came after weeks of protests and complaints by contractors and Ministries, Departments and Agencies over poor budget implementation, delayed capital releases and unpaid certificates.

Contractors had repeatedly blocked the entrance to the Ministry of Finance in Abuja, claiming that they were owed for projects executed since 2024 and accusing the government of issuing some payment approvals without corresponding cash backing.

The protests intensified in January and again in June 2026, with the contractors rejecting government claims of substantial debt settlements and insisting that a large proportion of their members remained unpaid.

But speaking during the question-and-answer session of the media conference to explain the proceeds of the subsidy removal, Oyedele said the government has deliberately prioritised thousands of smaller local contractors owed between N20m and N40m, rather than focusing first on bigger companies with multibillion-naira claims.

According to him, the approach had helped to reduce public protests by contractors, although negotiations were continuing with larger firms.

Speaking on the government’s response to the contractors’ complaints, Oyedele said, “Just in the past couple of…