The Federal Government has issued a deadline of July 31, 2024, for all civil servants to verify their identities on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) portal.
This move is part of efforts to tackle ghost workers, fraud, and inaccurate payment of salaries.
Civil servants are required to generate their Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) from Federal Inland Revenue Services offices nationwide and submit it alongside their IPPIS number and salary account number for verification.
Failure to comply may result in stopped salaries and sanctions for ghost workers.
“During my recent visit to South Africa, I kept abreast of the week’s activities.
“I was particularly struck by the revelations shared by the Head of the Civil Service, regarding employees who had relocated abroad while drawing salaries without formally resigning.
“It is heartening to hear that measures have been taken to address this issue, but we must ensure those responsible are held accountable and restitution is made.
“The culprits must be made to refund the money they have fraudulently collected.
“Their supervisors and department heads must also be punished for aiding and abetting the fraud under their watch,” Tinubu had said.
A senior civil servant, who confided in our correspondent in Abuja over the weekend, noted that civil servants were struggling to meet the July 31 deadline for verification.
“The deadline for the verification is July 31, so we have tons of civil servants in Ilorin here who are trying to ensure that they register before the deadline. In fact, I have just been able to get my TIN after several attempts to get it online failed.”
Another civil servant said, “Yes, the deadline is July 31,”
When asked if civil servants were struggling to get their verification done, he said, “Of course, in previous years, those who failed had their salaries stopped, no one wants to risk anything.”
Recall that following the President’s directive, the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation had unveiled a portal for civil servants’ verification.
With this development, President Bola Tinubu has taken a strong stance against fraud in the civil service, directing the recovery of salaries paid to civil servants who relocated abroad and ordering punishment for their supervisors and department heads who facilitated the fraud.
The verification exercise aims to ensure transparency, accountability, and efficient management of the federal government’s payroll.
