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Gunshots rock Abuja as protesting contractors block finance minister from entering office
There was tension on Monday at the entrance of the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja as protesting local contractors stopped the Minister of State for Finance, Doris Uzoka-Anite, from gaining access to the complex.
The protesters, who were members of the All Indigenous Contractors Association of Nigeria (AICAN), barricaded the ministry’s gate to demand payment of debts they said the federal government owes them for completed jobs.
Trouble started when Uzoka-Anite arrived at the ministry and met the locked gate.
Security operatives tried to clear a path for her to enter the premises, but the demonstrators strongly resisted the move and refused to allow her through.
“How many people government go kill ooo… how many people government go kill,” they chanted in unison.
Amid the scuffle, a gunshot was heard as security personnel attempted to disperse the protesters.
The contractors had accused the federal government of refusing to pay them for projects executed.
They had also accused the federal government of refusing to release the funds earmarked in the 2024/2025 budgets.
Last year, the contractors organised a series of protests at the National Assembly Complex and finance ministry.
In December 2025, President Bola Tinubu set up a multi-ministerial committee to resolve the debt owed to federal contractors, with outstanding payments at about N1.5 trillion.
The committee members are Wale Edun, minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy; Atiku Bagudu, minister of budget and economic planning; Tanimu Yakubu, director-general of the budget office; Dave Umahi, minister of works; Ahmed Dangiwa, minister of housing and urban development; and Zacch Adedeji, chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
A senate committee had also invited Edun to shed more light on the circumstances behind the payment delay.
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