The All-Indigenous Contractors Association of Nigeria (AICAN) unequivocally refutes reports that the Federal Government paid N152 billion to local contractors for 2024 projects.
This was firmly stated at a news conference on Tuesday in Abuja, led by the National General Secretary, Mr Babatunde Seun.
Seun declared the claim, attributed to the Minister of State for Finance, Mrs Doris Uzoka-Anite, and circulated by a blogger known as “Dee-One,” as misleading and inconsistent with AICAN’s financial records.
He insisted that, contrary to the N152 billion cited, AICAN members have received only N61 billion for project payments between December 2025 and January 2026, with specific receipts detailed in the following statements.
According to him, the only payment within this period was N21 billion, finalized on December 31, 2025, and credited to members’ accounts on January 21, 2026. He emphasized again that no payment of N152 billion had been made, and such reports misrepresented AICAN’s financial position.
He categorically denounced the orchestrated sponsorship of bloggers who spread unfounded and deceptive narratives.
Seun recalled that at a meeting with the Minister of Finance, Mr Wale Edun, on Dec. 3, 2025, N150 billion was approved to settle outstanding 2024 project payments owed to AICAN members.
He said the payment was structured into batch and unbatch payments.
According to him, under unbatch payments, 938 companies submitted claims totaling about N53 billion, but the required warrants had not yet been signed by the Minister of State for Finance.
Regarding batch payments, Seun said 786 companies submitted claims, 611 were finalised, and the total approved amount was N61.5 billion.
He said 67 approved companies, 33 reviewed companies, and 75 firms with wrongly batched or missing drafts were not paid. He confirmed that from December 2025 through January 2026, the only payment received for 611 companies amounted to N61 billion.
Seun added that many AICAN members remained unpaid, with several files still undergoing processing. He reiterated that the N152 billion payment claim was false and did not align with payments received between December 2025 and January 2026.
The association demanded that all outstanding payments be settled by Feb. 27, firmly rejecting any proposal to delay until the end of March.
He further demanded the immediate signing of warrants for unbatch payments and the unconditional release of the approved N150 billion, as stipulated in prior agreements.
