Kwara rejects salary arrears claim, blames verification for payment delays

The Kwara State Government has dismissed allegations that it owes civil servants salaries for May and June 2026, insisting that workers were paid and that only a few employees experienced delays due to ongoing payroll verification.

The clarification followed claims by organised labour that the government had failed to pay salaries and statutory deductions for the two months.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Press Secretary to the Office of the Accountant-General, Babatunde Abdulrasheed, quoted the Accountant-General, Abdulganiyu Sani, as saying salaries for both months had been fully processed and disbursed.

“I wish to state categorically that salaries for May and June 2026 were duly processed and paid. The assertion that the State failed to pay salaries for these two months is incorrect,” Sani said.

He explained that workers yet to receive their salaries were affected by payroll validation, staff verification and compliance requirements associated with the ongoing State Staff Identification Number (SSID) registration exercise.

According to him, the verification exercise is designed to improve payroll integrity, eliminate irregularities and protect public funds, rather than deprive legitimate workers of their salaries.

Sani urged affected workers to complete the registration and verification process to facilitate the release of their outstanding payments.

He also defended the government’s use of a payroll consultant, describing the arrangement as a long-standing practice that provides only technical support for electronic salary processing.

“The consultant does not determine beneficiaries or authorise payments. It simply processes the payroll that has been prepared, verified, approved and funded by the Office of the Accountant-General,” he said.

The Accountant-General maintained that the Office of the Accountant-General retains responsibility for preparing payrolls, verifying salary data, obtaining approvals and funding salary payments.

He reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to workers’ welfare, transparency and prompt payment of salaries and statutory deductions.

The government’s response comes after the Kwara State chapters of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and Joint Negotiation Council (JNC) issued an ultimatum demanding payment of the alleged outstanding salaries and deductions.

The unions also called for the removal of the payroll consultant, the return of salary administration to the Office of the Accountant-General and the removal of the Commissioner for Finance, warning that failure to meet their demands could lead to industrial action, including the picketing of the Ministry of Finance.