Kwara Denies Owing Workers May, June Salaries
The Kwara State Government has dismissed claims that it owes civil servants salaries for May and June 2026, insisting that wages for both months were fully processed and paid.
The government explained that the few 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.
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 describing reports of unpaid salaries as false.
“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 the outstanding cases were isolated and largely resulted from payroll validation, staff verification and compliance requirements, stressing that the SSID registration exercise was introduced to strengthen payroll integrity and eliminate irregularities.
According to him, the exercise is not intended to deprive genuine workers of their salaries but to enhance transparency, safeguard public resources and ensure the credibility of the state’s payroll system.
Sani urged affected workers to complete the SSID registration and other verification processes to facilitate the payment of their salaries.
He also reaffirmed that the Office of the Accountant General remains solely responsible for preparing the monthly payroll, generating salary schedules and statutory deductions, verifying payroll data, securing approvals and providing funds before salaries are released.
The Accountant General dismissed concerns over the engagement of a payroll consultant, explaining that the arrangement had existed for several years and was limited to providing technical support for electronic payroll processing.
He said the consultant neither determines salary beneficiaries nor authorises payments, but only processes payroll already prepared, verified, approved and funded by the Office of the Accountant General.
Sani assured workers that the administration of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq remains committed to their welfare and the prompt payment of salaries and statutory deductions.
“The welfare of workers remains a top priority of the administration of His Excellency, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq. We will continue to strengthen our payroll processes, promote transparency and accountability, and ensure the timely payment of salaries and statutory deductions to all eligible public servants,” he said.
The government’s clarification came two days after the Kwara State chapters of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and Joint Negotiation Council (JNC) issued a fresh ultimatum over the alleged non-payment of May and June salaries and statutory deductions.
In a communiqué, the labour unions demanded the immediate disengagement of the payroll consultant, the restoration of salary administration to the Office of the Accountant General and the removal of the Commissioner for Finance.
They warned that failure to meet the demands could trigger industrial action, including the picketing of the Ministry of Finance.