The Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) yesterday blamed the shortfalls in personnel cost allocations for the delay in the payment of February salary to the employees of the Ministry of Steel Development and four other agencies.

In a statement, the office said the affected organisations experienced funding gaps in their salary budgets for the month. It listed the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, National Rural Electrification Agency, Kamuku National Park and the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria as the four MDAs affected. “The delay was caused by salary shortfalls recorded in the personnel cost allocations of the affected MDAs,” the statement said.

The OAGF said the clarification was issued in response to concerns raised by civil servants over the non-payment of February salary in some federal organisations.

It explained that the affected ministries, departments and agencies had been advised to engage with the Cash Management Office of the Federal Ministry of Finance to resolve the shortfalls responsible for the delay. The OAGF assured workers affected by the delays that efforts were ongoing to resolve the issues and ensure that the outstanding salaries are paid promptly.