NIGERIA: Reps Halt Plenary For A Week As Angry Contractors Shut Down National Assembly

By Ameenat Hamzat

The House of Representatives has suspended its plenary sessions for one week following a dramatic protest by indigenous contractors who blocked the main entrance of the National Assembly in Abuja over unpaid project funds.

The protest, which erupted on Tuesday, forced security operatives to seal the main gate, compelling lawmakers, staff, and visitors to access the complex through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation’s entrance.

The aggrieved contractors, who have been staging demonstrations for months at various federal ministries, including Finance and Works, accused the government of neglecting their plight despite repeated promises of payment for projects executed since 2024.

‘Tinubu Ordered Payment Weeks Ago’

While moving the motion that led to the suspension of plenary, Minority Leader Kingsley Chinda said the House leadership had earlier met with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who “instructed the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, to immediately pay the local contractors.”

“The instruction was not implemented several weeks thereafter,” Chinda said, adding that the non-payment has subjected the contractors to “severe hardship” and worsened poverty levels across the country.

He prayed the House to give the federal government a seven-day ultimatum to settle the outstanding payments, stressing that it was time to match words with action.

The motion was unanimously adopted after Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu put it to a voice vote. Kalu, who had previously held several meetings with the contractors, confirmed that despite ministerial assurances, “the payments have not been made.”

In a dramatic turn, Kabiru Mai Palace, who represents Gusau/Tsafe Federal Constituency of Zamfara State, proposed an amendment that the House suspend its plenary sessions for one week to pressure the executive arm into fulfilling the contractors’ demands.

His motion was seconded by Francis Waive, Chairman of the Committee on Rules and Business, who said:

“So that we won’t be fighting at the gate to come in [to the national assembly]. It is sensible for us to keep away and give the government the time to do the needful.”

The lawmakers voted in favour of the motion, effectively shutting down plenary for one week to allow the executive to act.

The indigenous contractors had in earlier protests accused the Ministries of Finance and Works of deliberately withholding payments for completed projects, many of which were executed under the 2024 budget.

Finance Minister Wale Edun, during a meeting with the Deputy Speaker earlier this year, reportedly pledged to “settle the outstanding obligations,” a promise yet to be fulfilled.