Aiming to enhance transparency and efficiency within the Nigerian civil service, the Federal Government has suspended the salaries of 686 civil servants due to unverified records on the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS).
As part of a broader initiative to streamline the country’s payroll system and eradicate ghost workers, this move was revealed by the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (HoSF), Dr. Folashade Yemi-Esan, as contained in a statement issued by the Director of Communication, HoSF, on Wednesday.
Earlier this year, a verification exercise involving 59,201 civil servants identified discrepancies in the records of 11,447 officers.
In response, Yemi-Esan ordered the re-opening of the verification portal, inviting officers for a verification exercise from October 16 to 27, 2023.
Surprisingly, only 10, 761 officers out of the initially suspended 11, 447 participated in the physical verification exercise, leaving 686 absent.
“The records of 59,201 civil servants who participated fully in the verification exercise and had no discrepancies in their records, were forwarded to the office of the accountant-general of the Federation for continuous payment of their salaries.
However, salaries of 11, 447 officers whose records were not verified, were suspended, clarified the office of the Head of Service of the Federation.
The subsequent physical verification exercise aimed at ensuring the credibility of the records is on the IPPIS platform.
The statement provided a breakdown of officers with cleared records, stating, “September 2023 -818 officers, October 2023 – 650 0fficers, November 2023 – 6,857 officers, December 2023 – 1, 407 officers, totaling 9, 732 officers.”
While some have already received their salaries, others are scheduled to be paid in December, including any arrears owed.
However, the files of 1,209 officers with inconsistencies in their records are still awaited from their respective Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). Once received, the office will authenticate their records, and their salaries will be reinstated.
Remarkable, about 686 officers, whose salaries were suspended, failed to attend the verification exercise.
Consequently, their salaries remain suspended on the IPPIS platform, underscoring the government’s commitment to enforcing accountability and accuracy in its payroll system.
To address the situation, the verification portal was reopened for the affected officers to update their records online.
