The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, on Thursday brokered a peace deal between the Federal Government and indigenous contractors of Nigeria.
This came after the contractors, owed for months, staged a peaceful protest in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
Recall that only recently, the leadership of the 10th House assured contractors that their payments were being processed, urging them to be patient with the Federal Government.
In June 2025, Bauchi lawmaker, Senator Abdul Ningi, during a plenary session, expressed worry over the non-payment of Federal Government contractors since 2024 and called for an immediate investigation.
In reaction, the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation pledged commitment to begin payment to contractors, a promise that was not immediately kept.
Following his appointment as Chairman of the House Special Committee on Budget Implementation by the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, Kalu invited over 80 contractors, drawn from several parts of the country.
In attendance were also the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, the Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi and other top government officials.
After a marathon meeting lasting over four hours, Kalu announced that all parties had resolved the issues in the interest of the economy.
Consequently, payments to contractors are expected to commence on Monday, September 8, 2025.
A statement issued on Thursday night by the Chief Press Secretary to the Deputy Speaker, Levinus Nwabughiogu, quoted Kalu as saying, “We met on Wednesday with the Finance Minister, Minister of Budget and Planning, Accountant-General of the Federation, and representatives that cut across all the caucuses of the House, including representation from the House Appropriation Committee and Finance.
“We saw the protest and asked them to come, let’s have a conversation. I want to thank President Bola Tinubu for appointing these gentlemen to occupy the positions they occupy.
“They have shown humility in service. They’ve shown diligence in the way this matter has been handled, and as a parliament, we are happy that all we discussed yesterday, they have started implementing today (Thursday).
“We had over four hours of engagement, and they left here smiling. We got the strategy in place, and we’re going to come back on September 21 to review what we’ve done so far, how we’ve ticked the boxes, what needs to be done and the way forward.”
The statement also quoted the finance minister as commending Kalu for his intervention, assuring that the payment will commence next week.
“Under the leadership of the Rt Hon Benjamin Kalu, we did hold a marathon meeting today (Thursday) where all the issues were discussed, a timeline was put in place, a way forward was mapped out, and all parties at the end of it left knowing that contractors would be paid for jobs done.
“We have an orderly and systematic way of dealing with the backlogs which had accrued over time.
“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, finalisation 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 Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, corroborated the position of Edun, saying, “This process is ongoing. We’ve been paying contractors, and we will continue to pay. From Monday, payments will start dropping,” he said.
