The Federal Government on Thursday moved to ease tensions among road contractors, pledging to settle all outstanding debts before December 20, following days of protests over unpaid contracts and stalled project financing.
The assurance came from the Minister of Works, David Umahi, during the reopening of the repaired Keffi Flyover in Nasarawa State. Umahi said President Bola Tinubu had acknowledged the backlog and approved the constitution of a special committee to verify and discharge all outstanding claims.
In recent days, contractors handling federal road projects staged protests at the Federal Ministry of Finance, demanding payment for completed and ongoing works. The contractors, under the All Indigenous Contractors Association of Nigeria (AICAN), alleged that the government owes about N4 trillion, with N760 billion specifically pending release despite a September pledge by the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun.
During the protest, contractors placed a symbolic coffin at the ministry’s entrance, representing hardships and deaths suffered due to delayed payments.
Responding to the concerns, Umahi urged contractors to suspend protests, insisting that President Tinubu had directed that all verified debts be settled promptly. He highlighted contractors along the Maraba–Keffi corridor, including China Harbour Engineering Company, as part of the upcoming disbursement.
“Let me assure our contractors that Mr President yesterday (Wednesday) recognised that you have been owed and is setting up a committee to review all the debts,” Umahi said. “Please, there should be no more protests. You will be paid. The president has assured that you’ll be paid, like the intervention we made on Maraba–Keffi. I know that two of the contractors have not been paid, but before the 20th of December, you’ll be settled.”
In a move to enhance transparency and public confidence, Umahi also revealed that the Ministry had invited the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to audit all ongoing and completed federal road projects across the 36 states and the FCT. The exercise aims to ensure that payments reflect actual work executed.
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“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.
“We have also sent the same list to EFCC. We are very transparent in what we are doing under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he noted.
He said the government was introducing an online platform for real-time monitoring of project status to allow citizens track progress and raise concerns.
During the formal reopening of the Keffi Flyover, which collapsed on July 4 after a truck conveying an excavator damaged its structural components, Umahi commended the swift response of the President, revealing that the funds for the emergency works were released within 24 hours of the incident.
“Within 24 hours of briefing him, Mr President released the money for this bridge. It’s unprecedented,” he said.
The repaired flyover—an essential link between Abuja and Nasarawa—required reconstruction of the beam, parapet and walkway, alongside the installation of a new gantry crash-prevention system.
Technical officials from the Federal Ministry of Works confirmed that the structure was now ready for public use, with safety systems already stopping attempted truck collisions.
The Minister also defended the pace of work on the Abuja–Kano Road, describing recent public criticism as unfair.
He said the original contract design was flawed and had been modified to include full concrete shoulders, adding that sections covering over 44 kilometres had been completed with existing funding.
Sections one and three now have about eight kilometres of completed concrete pavement, while a solar-lit 12-kilometre extension around Kano is nearing completion.
Umahi repeated his commitment to quality and transparency, saying stringent monitoring, concrete pavement technology and tolling reforms would help Nigeria achieve durable roads and better cost efficiency.
He said the government was implementing a rigorous defect-liability regime, maintaining a 2.5 per cent retention fee until contractors demonstrated full compliance.
