1
Torkwase Nyiekaa
The lingering standoff between the Federal Government and indigenous contractors of Nigeria has been resolved following the intervention of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, PhD, CFR.
The contractors, owed for several months, had staged a protest in Abuja earlier in the week. However, calm was restored on Thursday after Kalu, who was recently appointed Chairman of the House Special Committee on Budget Implementation by Speaker Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, PhD, GCON, convened an expanded dialogue session with over 80 contractors and their leadership.
The meeting, which lasted more than four hours, had in attendance the Minister of Finance, Mr. Wale Edun, the Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr. Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, as well as other top government officials.
At the end of deliberations, Kalu announced that all parties had reached a resolution in the interest of the economy, with payments to contractors set to begin on Monday.
“We had over four hours of engagement and everyone left here smiling. We now have a strategy in place and will reconvene on September 21 to review progress,” Kalu said.
He expressed gratitude to Speaker Abbas and the House leadership for entrusting him with the responsibility, as well as to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for appointing officials who, according to him, demonstrated “humility and diligence” in handling the matter.
The Minister of Finance, Mr. Edun, praised the Deputy Speaker’s intervention, confirming that a roadmap for the payment of contractors had been agreed upon.
“We held a marathon meeting where all issues were discussed and a timeline was put in place. Contractors will be paid for jobs executed, and we now have an orderly and systematic way of clearing the backlog. After Friday’s holiday, the Central Bank will reopen and payments will commence on Monday,” Edun assured.
Echoing this commitment, the Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr. Ogunjimi, added:
“This process is ongoing. We have been paying contractors, and from Monday, more payments will start dropping.”
Leaders of the Association of Indigenous Contractors of Nigeria, who also participated in the meeting, expressed satisfaction with the resolutions reached and pledged to call off their protests.
The breakthrough is seen as a major step in easing tensions, ensuring continuity of government projects, and boosting confidence in the government’s commitment to meeting its financial obligations.