Kwara denies owing workers May, June salaries
By Toheeb Omotayo
The Kwara State Government has denied claims that it owes workers salaries for May and June 2026, saying salaries for both months were fully processed and paid.
The government said the few workers yet to receive their salaries were affected by payroll validation, staff verification and compliance requirements linked to the ongoing State Staff Identification Number registration exercise.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Press Secretary to the Office of the Accountant-General, Babatunde Abdulrasheed, the Accountant-General, Abdulganiyu Sani, described the allegations as incorrect.
“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.
“Where a few employees are yet to receive their salaries, such cases are isolated and are largely due to payroll validation, staff verification, and compliance requirements,” he said.
He added that cases involving workers who were yet to receive their salaries were isolated and largely resulted from payroll validation, staff verification and compliance requirements.
According to him, the ongoing SSID registration exercise is aimed at strengthening payroll integrity and eliminating irregularities.
The SSID exercise is not intended to deny any genuine worker their salary. Rather, it is a necessary reform to strengthen the credibility of the State payroll, eliminate irregularities, and safeguard public resources. We encourage all affected workers to complete the registration and other required verification processes.
“The Office of the Accountant-General prepares the monthly payroll, generates salary schedules and statutory deductions, verifies payroll data, secures all necessary approvals, and provides funding for the approved payroll before salaries are released. This statutory responsibility has not changed,” Sani added.
The Accountant-General also dismissed concerns over the engagement of a payroll consultant, saying the arrangement had been in place for years and was only intended to provide technical support for electronic salary processing.
“For several years, the State Government has engaged a payroll consultant to provide the technology platform and technical support for electronic payroll processing and salary disbursement.
“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 stated.
He urged workers yet to complete the SSID registration to do so to avoid delays in salary payments, assuring that the government remained committed to the welfare of workers and the timely payment of salaries.
“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 added.
The government’s response came two days after the state chapters of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress and Joint Negotiation Council issued a fresh ultimatum over the alleged non-payment of May and June salaries and statutory deductions.
In a communiqué, the 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, warning that failure to meet the demands would trigger industrial action, including the picketing of the Ministry of Finance.