The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation has explained that delays in the payment of February 2026 salaries for staff in some federal ministries, departments and agencies were caused by gaps in personnel cost allocations.
In a statement issued on Monday, the Director of Press and Public Relations at the Office of the Accountant-General, Bawa Mokwa, said the delay affected the Federal Ministry of Steel Development and four federal agencies due to shortfalls in their salary budgets for the month.
According to him, the affected organisations include the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, the National Rural Electrification Agency, Kamuku National Park, and the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria.
“The delay was caused by salary shortfalls recorded in the personnel cost allocations of the affected MDAs,” Mokwa said.
He explained that the clarification became necessary following complaints from some civil servants over the non-payment of their February salaries.
The Accountant-General’s office noted that the affected ministries, departments and agencies had been advised to work with the Cash Management Office of the Federal Ministry of Finance to address the funding gaps responsible for the delay.
“The Office of the Accountant-General has communicated with the affected MDAs to liaise with the Cash Management Office of the Federal Ministry of Finance to resolve the issue of the salary shortfalls,” the statement added.
The office stressed that the delay was limited to the listed agencies and confirmed that salaries for other federal workers had already been paid.
It also addressed concerns from civil servants whose salary accounts are domiciled with Standard Chartered Bank, stating that although their salaries had been paid, they were unable to access the funds because of the bank’s policy requiring a minimum opening balance of N7 million.
“Civil servants whose salary accounts are domiciled with Standard Chartered Bank were unable to access their salaries due to the bank’s policy requiring a minimum opening balance of seven million naira.
However, the salaries of the affected workers had been paid to the bank,” Mokwa said.
The Office of the Accountant-General assured affected workers that efforts were ongoing to resolve the issues and ensure prompt payment of the outstanding salaries.
Meanwhile, the proposed 2026 Federal Government budget projects about N8.36 trillion for personnel costs across ministries, departments and agencies, with additional allocations set aside for pensions and gratuities.
