Medium and large local contractors in the Nigerian construction industry suffer from numerous problems and complex issues in regards to their performance in executing projects, particularly cost, time and quality. This paper is to identify the factors affecting the performance of medium and large local contractors in the Jigawa state Nigerian construction industry. Literature about medium and large local contractors, their performance was reviewed to identify the factors believed to affect their performance in executing construction projects. One hundred thirty-six questionnaires distributed to clients, consultants, medium and large local contractors. The findings indicate that all the respondents agree that the most significant factors affecting the performance of medium and large local contractors in the Jigawa state Nigerian construction industry were corruption, the time taken in payment from the client to contractor, additional work given during construction, used of an unskilled labour force and non-adherence to specification. This paper helps to expand the pool of knowledge to the Nigerian contractors regarding essential element that is needed to be observed in order to improve their performance.