The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has said it is prepared to join the ongoing protests by local contractors and pensioners across the country if the Federal Government fails to respond to their plight.

National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, dropped the notice in a statement on Sunday.

Checks revealed that indigenous contractors under the aegis of All Indigenous Contractors Association of Nigeria (AICAN) blocked the main entrance to the Federal Ministry of Finance, Abuja, last Tuesday, demanding that the Federal Government settle their outstanding debt of N760 billion for completed 2024 capital projects.

The contractors had earlier last month, blocked the main entrance to the National Assembly for two consecutive days, forcing the House of Representatives to suspend plenary and issuing a seven-day ultimatum to the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; Minister of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagudu and the Accountant General of the Federation, Shamsudeen Ogunjimi, to pay all outstanding debts owed them and ensure the implementation of the 2025 budget.

Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, last Thursday, assured that all outstanding debts will be cleared before December 20, 2025.

The Ministry of Finance is, however, silent on the fate of pensioners.

The ADC, in its statement, accused the present administration of indifference to pensioners and local contractors it owed for contractors already executed.

The statement read, “The ADC is deeply concerned by the plight of indigenous contractors who, for several weeks, have camped at the Federal Ministry of Finance with coffins, demanding to be paid for the work they have done.

“We also stand in strong solidarity with pensioners who are now threatening to march naked in protest if the Federal Government fails to pay what it owes to them in long arrears of pensions.

“No serious government allows things to deteriorate to the point where citizens must resort to coffins and naked protests before they are taken seriously.

“But this only further confirms that the APC government is insensitive and does not care about the damage that their actions or inactions do to the country’s image, and more importantly, to the livelihood of ordinary citizens.

“What makes this even more troubling is that the same government responsible for this embarrassment keeps boasting about ‘meeting and surpassing revenue targets’. If our national finances are truly as strong as the government claims, why are contractors still owed over N500 billion for completed projects? Why are pensioners still waiting for increments and palliatives that were approved more than a year ago? You cannot claim revenue excellence while ordinary Nigerians are drowning In unpaid debts. Something is not adding up.

“And, instead of addressing this crisis, the APC-led government is busy distributing campaign vehicles, mobilising coordinators, and building structures for 2027.

“A government that cannot pay its own contractors and cannot honour its obligations to pensioners has absolutely no moral right to be campaigning for another term.

“We have taken note of the untold suffering and humiliation that both the contractors and the pensioners have had to endure. This has to end now. The ADC is therefore prepared to march in solidarity with them if the government refuses to act immediately to address their plight.

“ADC will continue to stand with all citizens who have been pushed into hardship by this APC-led federal government’s failures. Where this government destroys trust, we will rebuild it. Where they abandon their responsibilities, we will uphold them.” (Sunday Tribune)

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