‘APC Convention Won’t Hold Peacefully’ — Contractors Vow to Disrupt Event Over N150bn Debt

Tension is building ahead of the national convention of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as a group of contractors has issued a strong warning over unpaid debts.

The contractors say the event may face disruption if the Federal Government fails to meet their demands within days.

Politics Nigeria reports that the All Indigenous Contractors Association of Nigeria (AICAN) made this known on Tuesday in Abuja while resuming its protest.

The group accused the government of neglecting financial obligations running into trillions of naira, despite earlier agreements.

The National President of AICAN, Jackson Nwosu, said the association is demanding the immediate release of N150bn.

According to him, this amount is part of commitments made by the government after previous protests held between December 2025 and January 2026.

He explained that only N21bn has been paid so far within that period. He added that the total outstanding debt owed to contractors is over N1tn.

“For AICAN members, the government has only paid N21bn between this period in question. What is remaining to be paid is over N1tn, but what we are discussing as the immediate payment we need is N150bn.

“Our immediate demand is for the payment to be made between now and the next two days, and if not, the planned APC national convention in Abuja will not be successful.

“We will stage our protest at the APC convention venue. We will be there and make sure it is known to the world that this government is deceptive. What we want them to pay immediately is N150bn, and they have committed to do that,” he said.

Nwosu further revealed that discussions are ongoing with officials from the Ministry of Finance. He noted that the expectation is for the funds to be paid directly to contractors without further delay.

Also speaking, the National Secretary of the association, Babatunde Seun, expressed frustration over what he described as repeated delays and broken promises by the government.

He said members of the association are facing serious hardship due to the unpaid debts.

“What AICAN has received as an association of contractors is N21bn as part of the list of payments finalised in December 2025. A lot of our members are dying as a result of this debt the Federal Government owes members,” Seun said.

He linked part of the delay to the extension of the 2024 budget implementation, which was moved from December 2025 to March 2026. According to him, no new payments have been made since the last round of protests in January.

Seun also shared a troubling case of a contractor who allegedly died after being unable to afford medical treatment, despite being owed over N100m by the government.

He raised concerns over plans to channel payments through the Debt Management Office, insisting that the association would reject such a move. He maintained that contractors want direct settlement of their verified claims.

The association put the total debt owed to indigenous contractors at about N1.15tn, stressing that immediate action is needed to prevent further suffering among its members.

The APC national convention is scheduled to hold in Abuja between March 27 and 28, 2026. With the contractors vowing to take their protest to the venue, there are growing concerns over possible disruptions if the situation is not resolved quickly.