Protesting contractors will receive payments from Monday, says Wale Edun

Wale Edun, minister of finance, has assured indigenous contractors that payments for executed projects will begin next week.

According to a statement on Thursday by Levinus Nwabughiogu, chief press secretary to Benjamin Kalu, deputy speaker of the house of representatives, the minister spoke after a meeting convened by the lawmaker in Abuja.

Edun said the federal government has adopted a structured process to address outstanding obligations to contractors.

“Under the leadership of the Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, we did hold a marathon meeting today where all the issues were discussed and a timeline was put in place and a way forward was mapped out and all parties at the end of it left knowing that contractors would be paid for jobs done and we have an orderly and systematic way of dealing with the backlogs which had approved overtime,” he said.

“Once again, we commend the leadership of the House of Representatives and the contractors for their willingness to sit down and dialogue. The Accountant-General of the Federation made some commitments which helped us to chart the way forward.

“We had a peaceful solution. A timeline was put in place and everyone accepted that there are steps that need to be taken, approvals, finalization and orderly procedure for payments. After Friday’s holiday, the Central Bank will open again on Monday and payments will commence immediately.”

The assurance follows a protest in Abuja by indigenous contractors who said they have been owed for over two years.

Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, accountant-general of the federation, corroborated Edun’s statement, saying the payment process has already begun.

“This process is ongoing. We’ve been paying contractors and we will continue to pay. From Monday, payments will start dropping,” Ogunjimi said.

Earlier, leaders of the association of indigenous contractors of Nigeria expressed satisfaction with the resolutions reached at the meeting and commended Kalu for his intervention, pledging to discontinue the protest.