In a bid to streamline government payroll and curb fraud, the Nigerian government has initiated a process to update the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) for federal workers. However, as of October 3, a significant number of employees, approximately 89,100, had not updated their records as required by the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF). With the October deadline approaching, these workers face the risk of not receiving their salaries from the end of the month.
The IPPIS initiative, launched in April 2017, aimed to combat ghost workers and reduce personnel cost inefficiencies by maintaining an accurate database of public servants. Over time, various phases of the program were implemented to ensure that all workers complied with the record-keeping requirements.
OHCSF’s Director of Communications, M. A. Ahmed, explained the process: “An initial period of three months was given for compliance, which was extended to one year in May 2018. This was the first phase. Subsequent phases included physical verification, conducted by trained staff from the OHCSF across the country.”
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Despite these efforts, many employees failed to verify their records, and in response, the OHCSF suspended their salaries starting from September 2023. Some of these employees subsequently appealed for a final opportunity to comply. The OHCSF reopened the portal for record updates from October 3 to 13, 2023. However, employees who failed to complete this step are now required to visit Abuja for physical verification.
Ahmed addressed some workers’ claims of difficulties during the verification process, attributing any inconveniences to non-compliance with official directives. He emphasized that the ongoing exercise would finalize the records of all civil servants, and those whose records couldn’t be verified would be delisted from the government’s payroll. This move is part of the government’s ongoing efforts to streamline its payroll and eliminate inefficiencies in the system.
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