The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation has explained that the delay in paying February 2026 salaries for staff of the Federal Ministry of Steel Development and four federal agencies was due to shortfalls in personnel cost allocations.
The clarification was provided in a statement by Bawa Mokwa, Director of Press and Public Relations at the Office of the Accountant-General, on Monday. He noted that the affected organisations faced funding gaps in their salary budgets for the month.
The delay impacted the Federal Ministry of Steel Development, Nigerian Export Promotion Council, 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,” the statement read.
The Office said the announcement was in response to concerns from civil servants over the non-payment of February 2026 salaries in some federal organisations. Affected ministries, departments, and agencies were advised to engage with the Cash Management Office of the Federal Ministry of Finance to resolve the shortfalls.
“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 emphasized that the delay was limited to the listed organisations, confirming that salaries for other federal workers had already been paid.
“The delay in salary payment for the affected organisations was strictly due to these shortfalls, confirming that salaries for other federal workers had already been paid,” it said.
The OAGF also addressed complaints from civil servants whose salary accounts are with Standard Chartered Bank, noting that workers could not access their salaries because of the bank’s policy requiring a minimum opening balance of seven million naira. However, the salaries had already been paid into the bank.
The Office assured affected workers that efforts are ongoing to resolve the issues and ensure that the outstanding salaries are paid promptly.
In the proposed 2026 Federal Government budget, personnel costs for ministries, departments, and agencies are projected at about N8.36tn, with additional allocations for pensions and gratuities pushing total staff-related spending even higher.