By Samuel Akpan
Businesses across Nigeria stand to gain significant relief as the Federal Ministry of Finance has approved payments to more than 1,240 contractors, prioritising those with verified claims of N100 million or less.
Mary-Ann Duke, the Senior Special Assistant on Communication and Press Secretary to the Minister of Finance, said the approval was the outcome of a verification and reconciliation exercise to confirm the outstanding obligations.
“Contractors prioritised for payment in the most recent batch are those with verified claims in the region of N100 million or less,” Duke said in a statement on Monday sent to Persecondnews.
“The Federal Ministry of Finance has approved payments to more than 1,240 contractors, providing immediate liquidity support to businesses across the country and reinforcing the Federal Government’s commitment to meeting its financial obligations.”
The ministry explained that the payments would provide relief to indigenous businesses and small and medium-sized enterprises, enabling them to return to project sites, pay workers and settle suppliers.
It further disclosed that the federal government has processed more than N700 billion in verified obligations owed to local contractors in recent months.
Within May alone, approximately N436.6 billion in transactions were processed, indicating a notable speed-up in clearing the backlog.
Prioritising smaller contractors is intended to spread the impact of the disbursements across sectors and regions, while helping businesses sustain operations, preserve jobs and complete ongoing projects, the ministry said.
The latest payments are also expected to boost confidence among contractors, suppliers and service providers doing business with the government.
Persecondnews recalls that the contractors had in January prevented Doris Uzoka-Anite, the former Minister of State for Finance, from accessing the ministry during a protest.
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