“Tension In Abuja: Protesters Demand Wale Edun, Accountant-General Step Down Immediately

The Coalition for Equity and Accountability in Public Finance (CEAPF) has called for the immediate resignation of the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, and the Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamsedeen Babatunde Ogunjimi.

The coalition accused the two officials of failing to pay contractors for projects duly approved in the 2024 budget and fully executed by local firms.

In a statement released on Wednesday and signed by its President, Segun Daramola, and Secretary-General, Isaac Idachaba, CEAPF warned that it would formally petition the National Assembly and lobby lawmakers across party lines to pass a vote of no confidence in both officials if they refuse to step down voluntarily.

The statement read:
“This is no longer a case of bureaucratic delay; it is a deliberate neglect of duty. Contractors have executed projects authorized under the 2024 Appropriation Act, yet they remain unpaid, with many driven into bankruptcy. At the same time, the Federal Government continues to fund projects outside the 2024 and 2025 Appropriation Acts. This is unlawful, reckless, and unacceptable.”

The group said the situation highlights a disturbing trend in Nigeria’s fiscal management where legal obligations are ignored while off-budget expenditures take priority. Such contradictions, it argued, undermine transparency and erode public trust in the nation’s budgeting process.

“What we are witnessing is a distortion of governance. Appropriation is the backbone of democracy — the guarantee that public funds are spent as approved by citizens’ representatives. If ministers and accountants can disregard this with impunity, then the National Assembly must act decisively and remove those undermining its authority,” the coalition declared.

CEAPF also revealed that contractors across the country are burdened with crippling debts, many having taken costly loans to deliver government projects. This neglect, the group warned, has triggered a ripple effect of economic hardship, hitting small businesses, suppliers, and workers.

“Instead of stimulating the economy, government contracts under Mr. Wale Edun and the Accountant-General have become instruments of ruin. Companies are collapsing, employees are losing jobs, and banks are seizing assets. This is economic sabotage by negligence,” the coalition said.

It stressed that the crisis is both financial and moral, insisting that resignation is the only honorable option left. Anything less, the group said, would make a mockery of accountability.

The coalition also urged President Bola Tinubu to intervene, warning that his credibility as a reformer was at stake.
“The President has championed fiscal discipline and reform. This is the time to prove those words have meaning. If his appointees cannot fulfill the basic duty of honoring the budget and paying for executed contracts, then they must step aside for others who can,” the statement added.

Meanwhile, members of the Indigenous Contractors Association of Nigeria staged a protest in Abuja on Wednesday over the non-payment of executed contracts. The protesters blocked the entrance of the Ministry of Finance, preventing staff and even Minister Wale Edun himself from accessing the building through the main gate.

Carrying placards that read, “You cannot grow the economy by starving its builders” and “National Assembly is folding their arms watching Nigerian contractors suffer injustice”, the demonstrators demanded to be addressed directly by the minister, rejecting the intervention of the permanent secretary.