By Garba Adamu Gwangwangwan
The Federal Government has issued a warning that any employee whose records cannot be verified within the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) will be removed from the payroll on Friday.
Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HoCSF), made this announcement in a statement on Wednesday.
The statement, signed by Mohammed Ahmed, Director of Communications in her office, explained that this two-week exercise, ending on Friday, October 27, 2023, was initiated to give an opportunity to officers who missed the earlier verifications.
It’s worth noting that the Federal Government introduced IPPIS in 2007 to enhance transparency, accuracy, and cost control in personnel management.
In 2013, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) took on the responsibility of cleansing the payroll records. The office established a verification portal in April 2017, with a directive for all public servants to update their records online. Extensive awareness campaigns were conducted via official, traditional, and social media channels, and deadlines for compliance were extended.
Subsequently, a physical verification phase was launched in 2018. OHCSF trained and deployed 500 staff to the 36 states of the Federation and the FCT to enable officers to undergo physical verification without traveling to Abuja.
After seven years of substantial investments in time and resources to verify the records of all civil servants on IPPIS, the office had to suspend the salaries of non-compliant officers starting from September 2023.
Some officers later sought an opportunity to comply, leading to the reopening of the portal from October 3 to 13, 2023, but they were required to come to Abuja for physical verification due to budget constraints.
Although there were initial challenges during the exercise, the situation has been resolved, and the two-week verification process, ending on Friday, October 27, 2023, is progressing well.
It’s emphasized that officers who didn’t comply with official directives are responsible for their inconveniences.
The ongoing exercise will conclude with the finalization of record verifications, and officers with unverified records will be delisted from the government’s payroll.
