On Thursday, Nigerian police used tear gas to disperse local contractors who had gathered for a peaceful protest outside the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike’s office at Area 11, Garki, Abuja. The contractors, representing the Association of Indigenous Contractors in FCTA, claim they are owed over N5 billion for completed and certified contracts.
One protester alleged that the police action was ordered by Wike and noted that this was their second protest in a month regarding the unpaid contracts. The protester described the scene, saying, “As soon as we began our peaceful protest at the gate, armed police arrived and started firing tear gas at us. They arrested and assaulted some of us while we fled in all directions.”
Mr. Andy Kor, a spokesperson for the contractors, said that their protest aimed to address the non-payment issue, which had persisted despite numerous attempts to secure payment. He explained that all their work had been completed and certified, but no payments had been made.
Kor added, “We are contractors working within the FCTA and have been doing so before Wike’s tenure. We are organized under the Association of Indigenous Contractors in FCTA. When Wike took over, he suspended payments temporarily to review the situation. After waiting without updates on when we would be paid, we protested and received payments last December.”
He continued, “Since then, we have been given new jobs, but after eight months, we still haven’t been paid. Despite writing letters to the minister’s office and visiting his chief of staff and the head of service, there was no resolution. We also informed the police commissioner and the DSS about our planned peaceful protest, but received no response.”
Kor explained that they chose to protest when they learned that Wike would be traveling to China for two weeks, hoping to address the issue in his absence. However, Wike returned unexpectedly, saw the protesters, and did not address them, instead entering his office.
After waiting two hours while being blocked by police, the contractors were dispersed with tear gas. Kor noted that the total amount demanded from the government for the contractors’ work exceeds N5 billion, and they had compiled individual bills to verify the claims.