Finance Minister Wale Edun has assured indigenous contractors that payments for completed projects will commence next week.

The assurance was made following a meeting organized by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu in Abuja, according to a statement on Thursday by his chief press secretary, Levinus Nwabughiogu.

Edun noted that the federal government has implemented a structured process to settle outstanding contractor obligations.

“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.

“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,” he said.

The assurance follows protests in Abuja by indigenous contractors who said they have been unpaid for over two years.

Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, confirmed Edun’s statement, noting that the payment process has already started.

“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 approval of the meeting’s resolutions, praised Kalu for his intervention, and pledged to call off their protest.