Due to discrepancies in their records, 5,000 Federal Government employees may not receive their November and December salaries on time.
Tommy Okon, National President of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), made the announcement in Abuja on Tuesday, November 28.
He stated that 2,772 workers had been confirmed and paid through the integrated payroll and personnel information system (IPPIS). However, there were still inconsistencies in the birth dates and first appointments of approximately 5,000 federal employees.
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He stated that six teams were working to ensure that the exercise was completed on time. He also advised affected civil servants to check the Federation’s Head of Service website for updates on a regular basis.
“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.
“It is advisable for a public servant to develop the habit of checking the HOS website for regular updates. We have confirmed that the salary for November 2023 is concluded. Therefore, those affected will not get their salaries for November,” he added.
He pleaded with the federal government to find an immediate solution to the problem.
Okon urged union members to be patient, saying that everything was being done within the law to resolve the issues as quickly as possible.
He requested that the Federal Government, through the Office of the Federation’s Head of Civil Service, take immediate action to ensure that December salaries were not delayed.
In October, federal civil servants who gathered in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to be captured by the IPPIS accused the government of neglecting them, ICIR reports.
The verification exercise brought civil servants from across Nigeria to Abuja to confirm their appointments.
The exercise was held at the Public Service Institute in Kubwa and the Conference Hall of the Federation’s Head of Civil Service for employees who had not yet been captured by the IPPIS.
A civil servant from Cross River State, who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation, told The ICIR that no one was attending to the workers at both locations, and that they had been stranded for days.
He also bemoaned the Federal Government’s decision to suspend their salaries because the IPPIS failed to capture them.
“Even if you do that, are you supposed to stop people’s salaries? What they are doing is extremely wrong. You asked federal staff to move from their stations to Abuja, and the verification portal is not working,” the worker said.
Another civil servant who preferred anonymity told The ICIR that no provision was made for accommodation, transportation, and feeding despite the increasing costs of living and transport in the city and the nation.
“I saw a woman and her little child sleeping on the floor when I left the venue around 8:30 p.m. yesterday.
“I also saw a woman with her newborn baby at the verification centre on Monday. It is a very serious issue,” said the worker.
However, in an interview with The ICIR, Mohammed Abdullahi, the Director of Information and Communication at the office of the Federation’s Head of Civil Service, blamed the delay in the verification on the unruly attitude of the civil servants. He stated that the portal was operational.
Abdullahi went on to say that the verification process was primarily intended to rid the civil service of ghost workers.
Approximately 17,000 federal civil servants from across the country took part in the activity.
The Office of the Federation’s Head of Service issued a circular on the activity on October 3, 2023, with reference number HCSF/HRM/M.1125/T4/194.