Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on Tuesday in Abuja told journalists that oil marketers would get their money before the end of the week.

She added that at the moment, the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF) has begun payment of fuel subsidy claims to marketers.

President Goodluck Jonathan had in December submitted a supplementary budget of N161billion to the National Assembly to help settle outstanding payment for subsidy claims for 2012.

“I was informed just before I came here that the money is being credited to the account now as we speak..You know the conversion is being done and it’s being credited to the accounts, so, marketers who have being and who said that they have not able to access should go now, today and take their money.

“As at Dec. 31st, the Ministry of Finance had approved for this money to be available in the central bank accounts where they can be accessed by the marketers once they have presented their papers and their sovereign debt notes had been issued. “I understand what is being done at this moment is that money is being converted from dollars because it is out of our crude oil earnings into Naira."

The Coordinating Minister for the Economy blamed the delay in the payment of claims to the process of conversion of the money from a dollar crude account to domestic Naira account.

So far, 23 oil marketers who have completed the paperwork for their claims would collect N94billion, while others are in the process of completing their paperwork to enable them collect their monies.

“As at Dec. 31st, the Ministry of Finance had approved for this money to be available in the central bank accounts where they can be accessed by the marketers once they have presented their papers and their sovereign debt notes had been issued. “I understand what is being done at this moment is that money is being converted from dollars because it is out of our crude oil earnings into Naira.

And that takes a few days, so a few technical issues are being done but it is being done now the conversion and the money is available,” she said.