Not less than 2,000 workers in different ministries, departments and agencies of the federal government have had their November 2023 salaries withheld.
It was learnt that the salaries of the affected workers were withheld over issues with their status on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
Naija News recalls the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) recently conducted a verification exercise for civil servants on the IPPIS platform.
Sources familiar with the development however told Punch on Monday that some workers were not cleared due to discrepancies in their records, hence their November 2023 salaries have been withheld.
A senior civil servant at the Federal Ministry of Defence was quoted to have said under anonymity due to Public Service Rules which forbid civil servants from speaking to the press, that the majority of workers in the ministry had not received their salaries.
Another senior civil servant in a top federal government agency explained that a certain percentage of civil servants had their salaries withheld.
“About 2,000 civil servants are actually involved and it’s due to failed verification on the IPPIS,” he said,
Speaking on the development, the spokesperson for the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Bawa Mokwa, told the platform that, “Salaries started dropping on Thursday last week. It’s not all civil servants. When I get the position of the director of IPPIS, I will get across to you.”
Similarly, the National President of the Association of Senior Civil Servants, Tommy Etim, said that the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation had already started working on the issues.
He noted that salaries for November have been concluded therefore, those affected will not be able to get their salary for the month of November but once cleared, they would get their December salaries and November arrears.
The Labour leader also appealed to the government to ensure December salaries are not delayed.
“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.
“A total of 2,772 have been verified and forwarded to IPPIS for payment because there were no issues. The names of 5,000 workers who have discrepancies are to be forwarded to their DHR for confirmation.
“There are six teams working tirelessly to ensure that the exercise is completed on time. It is advisable for public servants to develop the habit of checking the HOS website for regular updates. We have confirmed that the salary for the month of November 2023 is concluded, therefore, those affected will not be able to get their salary for the month of November.
“However, effort is being made by the HOSF to ensure that those cleared will get their salaries for December 2023, including the arrears from September.
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“We appeal to the Federal Government, through the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, to expedite action to ensure that the salary of December is not delayed,” Etim said.
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