Abuja discovers 1,617 civil servants stealing public funds
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Abuja has announced discovery of 1,618 civil servants with fake employment letters who slithered into federal payroll mainly in the Muhammadu Buhari years of the locust.
Head of Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF) Folashade Yemi-Esan, who made the announcement in Abuja, also disclosed the government is working on raising tour allowances for genuine civil servants who made a lot of contribution to the running of the country, even though they are not visible.
“The Presidential Committee on Salary Harmonization is working to review salaries to reduce the disparity. Earlier, 40 per cent of Basic salary approved by FEC [Federal Executive Council] as Peculiar Allowance with effect from January 2023.
“Also, we are working towards Upward Review of Staff Duty Tour Allowance,” she said.
“On the issue of procurement of insurance cover for the federal government employees from 9th February 2023 to 8th February 2024; and payment of backlog of death benefits to over 1,500 deceased officers to their beneficiaries from 2021 to date.
“On the third pillar of FCSSIP 25, the Office of the Head of Service has been working towards the implementation of HR Module of IPPIS with a view to bridging the identified gaps in the system.”
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Implementation of IPPIS
“As you are aware, prior to the introduction of the current mechanisms put in place to drive the implementation of the IPPIS, the system was bedevilled with considerable leakages and wastes as well as the incessant infiltration of ‘ghost workers’, etc, Yemi-Esan said, per The PUNCH.
“Consequent upon the identified loopholes in the IPPIS, the Office introduced control mechanisms. Notable among others was the inauguration of a Committee on Enrolment of Newly Recruited Civil Servants on the 1st of March, 2021.
“Hence, this and other initiatives in accelerating the roll-out of the HR Module of the IPPIS has brought about the following: Detection of 1,618 fake/illegal employment letters; Continuous suspension of Officers from IPPIS platform for not uploading their records; Verification of 69,854 officers across the core MDAs in FCT and the six (6) geo-political zones.”
In a related development, federal Accountant General Oluwatoyin Madein pledged there will not delay in the payment of July salary to civil servants. She made the promise during a meeting with Yemi-Esan in Abuja.
There was delay in the payment of May and June salaries which Madein attributed to bottlenecks beyond the control of the Office of the Accountant General (OAG).
“For May and June, we encountered some difficulties beyond our control but I can assure you that everything has been put in place to ensure that July 2023 salaries are not delayed and will be paid any moment from now,” she said.