Findings have revealed that salaries of more than 2,000 civil servants employed in Federal Government ministries, departments, and agencies have been withheld.
According to The PUNCH, a senior civil servant from the Federal Ministry of Defence, who preferred anonymity due to Public Service Rules restricting interactions with the press, stated that a significant portion of ministry workers have experienced a delay in receiving their salaries.
This delay, as mentioned by the civil servant, might be linked to the recent verification conducted by the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation.
Another senior civil servant within a prominent federal government agency stated that a percentage of civil servants had their salaries held back due to inconsistencies found on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System platform.
“About 2,000 civil servants are actually involved and it’s due to failed verification on the IPPIS,” he said,
When contacted, the spokesperson for the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Bawa Mokwa, said, “Salaries started dropping on Thursday last week. It’s not all civil servants. When I get the position of the director of IPPIS, I will get across to you.”
According to the National President of the Association of Senior Civil Servants, Tommy Etim, the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation has commenced efforts to address the issues at hand.
Etim had previously cautioned that approximately 5,000 civil servants faced potential forfeiture of their November 2023 and December 2023 salaries due to IPPIS verification and related discrepancies.
“As of today, only those who had earlier completed their verification exercise but were mistakenly delisted have had their salaries restored while 5,000 civil servants still have discrepancies on their date of first appointment and dates of birth.
“A total of 2,772 have been verified and forwarded to IPPIS for payment because there were no issues. The names of 5,000 workers who have discrepancies are to be forwarded to their DHR for confirmation.
“There are six teams working tirelessly to ensure that the exercise is completed on time. It is advisable for public servants to develop the habit of checking the HOS website for regular updates. We have confirmed that the salary for the month of November 2023 is concluded, therefore, those affected will not be able to get their salary for the month of November.
“However, effort is being made by the HOSF to ensure that those cleared will get their salaries for December 2023, including the arrears from September.
“We appeal to the Federal Government, through the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, to expedite action to ensure that the salary of December is not delayed.”
