THE All Indigenous Contractors Association of Nigeria (AICAN) has again urged the Federal Government to urgently address outstanding payments for completed projects awarded to local contractors to prevent avoidable hardship and deaths among its members.

The association made the appeal on Saturday in Abuja during the burial of another of its members, Alhaji Mohammed Inusa, who died after a three-month battle with a spinal tumour.

Speaking at the solemn event, the National President of AICAN, Jackson Nwosu, lamented that the deceased had executed projects worth billions of naira but was still owed over N1 billion by the government.

He alleged that the delayed payment severely hampered the late contractor’s ability to access the necessary funds for a life-saving surgery.

Nwosu said “We are here to bury one of our members that died.

“He had been suffering from this illness for about three months.”

The AICAN president appealed to the Federal Government to prioritise the payment of verified debts owed indigenous contractors to halt further suffering within the sector.

He further questioned the disparity in treatment between indigenous and foreign firms, asking why foreign contractors were sometimes paid upfront while local contractors struggled to recover money invested in successfully completed projects.

Corroborating the president’s stance, AICAN’s National Publicity Secretary, Rotimi Raheem, revealed that the association had lost several members nationwide to similar financial constraints.

Raheem stated that despite contributions from members to support Inusa’s medical expenses, the funds raised were insufficient, as many contractors were also experiencing severe financial difficulties.

“Two weeks ago, with the little we had, we gave it to him,” he noted.

He explained that some members had not been paid for projects completed over two years ago because such jobs allegedly lacked cash backing, adding that the crisis affects indigenous contractors across the country.

Raheem urged the government to ensure that verified obligations were settled, enabling local contractors to recover investments and continue contributing to national infrastructure development.

Also speaking, the son of the deceased, Nuhu Inusa, attributed his father’s rapidly deteriorating health to the prolonged delay in receiving payment for his executed contracts.

He disclosed that despite frantic efforts by the family to draw the attention of relevant authorities to his father’s plight and seek assistance from their representatives, no help was provided.

“Had the money been paid on time, I believe, though I am not God, that he might still have been alive by now,” Nuhu said.