Abuja: The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) has clarified that there are no shortfalls in salaries paid to federal workers in January and February.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the OAGF made the clarification in a statement issued by Bawa Mokwa, the Director, Press and Public Relations, in Abuja. Mokwa stated that the salaries workers received in January and February were their normal salaries after the various arrears paid from October to December 2024 had been exhausted.
He emphasized the necessity of clarifying the purported shortfall in January and February salaries to alleviate any anxiety among workers. Mokwa explained that various salary arrears were paid in the last quarter of 2024, including minimum wage arrears, a 25 percent/35 percent increase in salary arrears, and wage award arrears. These arrears, he noted, were distributed from October to December 2024, leading to an abnormal increase in salaries during that period.
The director further explained that the payment of normal salaries resumed in January 2025 after exhausting the various arrears, causing some workers to mistakenly believe they had been shortchanged. He confirmed that the salaries paid in January and February 2025 would continue until the Federal Government reviews them again.
Mokwa also addressed issues of overpayments in December 2024 due to a system error, stating that the error has been corrected and deductions from the salaries of affected workers are ongoing until the overpayments are fully recovered.
Regarding promotion arrears, Mokwa mentioned that the exercise is managed by a standing committee on promotion and salary arrears in the Budget Office of the Federation (BOF). The BOF compiles and vets all salary and promotion arrears from various MDAs before channeling them in batches to the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) for payment. IPPIS has fully paid batches 1 to 6 and is awaiting more batches from the BOF for payment.
Mokwa reiterated the OAGF’s commitment to efficiently managing the IPPIS, given its importance to workers. He advised workers with genuine salary complaints to follow the formal processes to resolve them promptly.