Aggrieved indigenous contractors in the Federal Capital Territory have accused FCT Minister Nyesom Wike of berating and humiliating them during a protest over unpaid contracts, alleging that he shouted at demonstrators, ordered one of them to “shut up,” and declared that he was “not anybody’s brother.”
The explosive allegations were made by the Chairman of the FCTA Indigenous Contractors, Adebola Benson-Ihua, who narrated what he described as a tense confrontation with the minister during the second day of protests at the entrance of the FCTA headquarters in Abuja.
In a video posted by SaharaReporters, Benson-Ihua insisted that the contractors were not political actors but desperate businessmen and women seeking payment for contracts allegedly executed and left unpaid for about three years.
According to him, the protest began on Tuesday but was disrupted when security operatives dispersed the demonstrators with tear gas.
“We started the protest on Tuesday. We were tear-gassed on Tuesday,” Benson-Ihua said. “Then on Wednesday, the minister was entering his office. He came down from his vehicle.”
Rather than engaging the protesters, Benson-Ihua alleged that Wike confronted them angrily and accused them of participating in a political campaign aimed at embarrassing and discrediting him.
“He came down with so much anger. He started attacking us that we are politicians, that all we are doing here is politics, that we were paid to come and embarrass him and tarnish his image,” he said.
The accusation, he said, infuriated one of the elderly contractors in the crowd, who openly challenged the minister.
“One elderly man got angry and told him, ‘I’m 75 years old. Do you think at my age somebody will be paying me to come and protest against you or play politics in front of this gate?'”
The elderly contractor reportedly told the minister that he had no choice but to protest because between ₦50 million and ₦70 million allegedly owed to him had remained unpaid despite the completion of his contract three years ago.
“He told the minister, ‘Seeing me here, you should know something is wrong. I am here because about ₦50 million to ₦70 million of my money has been tied down here for the past three years,'” Benson-Ihua recounted.
The protest leader said the elderly man became emotional as he narrated the devastating impact of the unpaid debt on his health and family.
“He said, ‘I borrowed money just to come to this protest because I believed I would find a solution here. I need my money. I need to take care of myself. I need to go for medical checkups. I need to pay my bills. I have a family to take care of.'”
According to Benson-Ihua, the minister became even more upset as the contractor continued speaking.
“So we calmed the man down. Then one of us greeted the minister, saying, ‘Good morning, sir.’ The minister shouted at him and told him to shut up,” he alleged.
He further claimed that when another contractor attempted to ease tensions by appealing to the minister on the basis of brotherhood, Wike flatly rejected the notion.
“One of the contractors told him, ‘Sir, we are your brothers.’ But the minister said he is not our brother, that he is not anybody’s brother,” Benson-Ihua alleged.
The elderly contractor, according to him, continued pleading for payment, insisting that officials within the administration had repeatedly told them that the minister personally ordered that their payments should not be processed.
“He kept saying, ‘Please pay us our money. They said you are the one holding our money. You are the one that instructed them not to pay us. I need my money for my health and my family.'”
Benson-Ihua said the minister eventually returned to his vehicle and departed without responding to their demands.
Rejecting claims that the demonstrations were politically motivated, he maintained that the contractors were merely demanding payment for jobs already executed on behalf of the FCTA.
“We want to use this opportunity to tell the minister that we are not politicians. We are businessmen and women. We have done work in the FCTA, and what we are asking for is for him to pay us,” he said.
He lamented that many contractors have exhausted their savings and remained trapped in debt while waiting for payments allegedly outstanding for three years.
“Three years is too much. Three years is not three days. We have bills to pay. We have families to take care of. We have school fees. We have rent to pay. We have staff working under us. We are begging him to look into this situation,” he added.
Describing the crisis as both humanitarian and economic, Benson-Ihua said many indigenous contractors financed government projects through commercial loans and now face mounting pressure from creditors.
“The little that belongs to the people should not be denied them. We are begging him to pay us what belongs to us,” he said.
He also issued a grim warning about the mental and financial toll of the prolonged delay, alleging that some contractors had reached breaking point.
“People at this junction are ready to commit suicide over this payment because they are going through a lot in the hands of banks and money lenders they borrowed money from. We are pleading with the minister. We are pleading with everybody to help us beg the minister so that he can make this payment.”
The contractors insist that their agitation has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with recovering money allegedly owed for completed contracts, warning that the continued delay threatens not only their businesses but also the welfare and survival of their families.