The opposition coalition, African Democratic Congress (ADC), has warned that it may join ongoing nationwide protests by local contractors and pensioners if the Federal Government fails to address mounting unpaid debts estimated at over N760 billion.

This comes on the heels of intensified demonstrations by Nigerian contractors, who last week staged multiple protests, including a symbolic act in which they placed a white coffin at the gate of the Federal Ministry of Finance to represent colleagues who reportedly died due to financial hardship while waiting for government payment.

The contractors, under the aegis of the All-Indigenous Contractors Association of Nigeria (AICAN), barricaded the ministry’s main entrance on Tuesday, demanding immediate settlement of outstanding payments for completed 2024 capital projects. They said the Federal Government’s prolonged silence and broken promises had pushed many into bankruptcy, ill-health, and death.

In a statement on Sunday, ADC’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said the party is ready to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the frustrated contractors and pensioners who are similarly owed by government.

According to Abdullahi, the administration’s failure to honour its financial obligations reflects an alarming level of insensitivity.

“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,” he said.

He also expressed solidarity with pensioners threatening to hold naked protests over unpaid arrears and unmet promises spanning more than a year.

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

The ADC spokesman questioned the Federal Government’s repeated claims of “meeting and surpassing revenue targets,” arguing that the rhetoric does not align with the prevailing economic and administrative realities.

“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 approved more than a year ago? You cannot claim revenue excellence while ordinary Nigerians are drowning in unpaid debts. Something is not adding up.”

Abdullahi accused the APC-led government of prioritising political mobilisation ahead of the 2027 elections rather than addressing the urgent needs of citizens.

“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.”

He said the ADC is prepared to march in solidarity with the affected groups if the federal authorities fail to take immediate corrective action.

“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. ADC will continue to stand with all citizens pushed into hardship by this APC-led government’s failures.”

According to Abdullahi, the party sees its role as one of rebuilding public trust and defending citizens abandoned by the government.

“Where this government destroys trust, we will rebuild it. Where they abandon their responsibilities, we will uphold them.”