ADC Plans to Join Protests by Local Contractors, Pensioners

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) yesterday 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.

 In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party condemned the federal government over its staggering debts to indigenous contractors and federal pensioners, saying it is a clear sign that the APC government does not care about the suffering of ordinary Nigerians.

The ADC said that it 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. 

According to the spokesman of ADC, ‘’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 owed 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.’’

 The ADC further said: ‘’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.’’

 Accordingly, the party said that it 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,’’ Abdullahi stated.