The All-Indigenous Contractors Association of Nigeria, AICAN, has denied claims that the Federal Government paid N152 billion outstanding debt to local contractors for projects done in 2024.
The association, at a news conference on Tuesday, its National General Secretary, Mr Babatunde Seun said the news promoted by the Minister of State for Finance, Mrs Doris Uzoka-Anite, through a blogger identified as “Dee-One,” was misleading and inconsistent with AICAN’s financial records.
He said only N61 billion had so far been received by AICAN members between December 2025 and January 2026, contrary to the N152 billion claimed.
According to him, the most recent and only payment to members was N21 billion, finalised on Dec. 31, 2025, and paid on Jan. 21, 2026.
“There has been no additional payment anywhere close to N152 billion as claimed. The publication does not reflect AICAN’s true financial position,” Seun said.
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He added that the association condemned the sponsorship of bloggers to spread false information without verifiable facts and figures.
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 amounting to about N53 billion, but the required warrants were yet to be signed by the Minister of State for Finance.
On batch payments, Seun said 786 companies submitted claims, 611 were finalised, with a total approved sum of N61.5 billion.
He said 67 approved companies, 33 reviewed companies, and 75 firms with wrongly batched or missing drafts were not paid.
“Payment received so far from December 2025 to date is only N61 billion, covering 611 companies,” he said.
Seun added that many AICAN members remained unpaid, with several files still undergoing processing.
He added that the N152 billion payment claim was false and deceptive, saying it was intended to mislead the public.
The association demanded that all outstanding payments be made on or before Feb. 27, rejecting suggestions that payments would extend to the end of March.
He also called for the immediate signing of warrants for payments and the full release of the approved N150 billion as earlier agreed.
NAN
