The Federal Government has allegedly discovered some discrepancies in the records of 316 civil servants enrolled on the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is said to have the highest number officers with discrepancies in their records, with a question mark over 109 workers’ date of birth and the date of first appointment.
The Ministry of Interior is the second with 81 officers, while the Ministry of Labour and Employment is third with 68 officials.
Others are the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development 24, the Ministry of Justice 19 and the Ministry of Women Affairs seven.
The Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation (five) and the Ministry of Power (three).
It was learnt that the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan, had since sent a circular directing the affected persons to take “necessary action” or risk the suspension of their June salaries.
The circular dated May 8, 2020 and marked HCSF/PS/CMM/IPPOS/1289/VOL. I/ 17 was addressed to all permanent secretaries.
The circular signed by the Director (IPPIS-SW), Mrs A. I. Atta, on behalf of the HOCSF, was titled ‘Roll-out of Human Resource Module of IPPIS in Core Ministries, Departments and Agencies’.
It read, “I am directed to inform you of the discrepancies observed in the date of birth and date of first appointment records of the officers on the attached list.
“Kindly request officers concerned to contact Messrs Bachir Bello Shagari and Chukwuemeka C. Ogbodo for necessary action.
“Non-compliance by the officers would lead to the suspension of their salaries on the IPPIS platform with effect from June 2020.”
The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), had earlier directed that salaries of government workers who failed to enrol on the IPPIS platform should be stopped.
The directive had caused a strain in the relationship between the government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities who rejected the directive for university teachers to enrol on the platform.
Instead, the union proposed the University Transparency and Accountability Solution to address “the peculiar cases of lecturers in the payment of salaries and other emoluments”.
