Federal employees claim that the government has neglected them after they gathered in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to have their information entered into the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS).
Its purpose is to confirm their assignments. The verification process attracted civil servants from all over Nigeria to Abuja.
The Public Service Institute in Kubwa and the Conference Hall of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation are hosting the exercise, which is intended for personnel who have not yet been added to the IPPIS database.
The ICIR was informed by a Cross River State civil servant who requested anonymity out of concern for retaliation that no one was providing assistance to the workers at either location, and that they had been stuck there since the exercise started on Monday, October 16.
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He also bemoaned the Federal Government suspending their salaries since the IPPIS failed to include them.
“Salaries for federal employees have been suspended for two months. It is required that employees travel to Abuja unpaid. Mothers who are nursing their babies and pregnant ladies are in pain here.
Are you meant to halt people’s pay even if you do that? They are acting in a really incorrect way. The verification portal is down, and you requested that federal employees relocate from their offices to Abuja, the employee claimed.
Despite the rising costs of living and commuting in the city and the country, a second federal servant who wished to remain anonymous told the online daily that no provisions were made for lodging, transportation and food.
Yesterday at about 8:30 p.m., as I was leaving the location, I noticed a mother and her little child sleeping on the floor.
“On Monday, I also saw a woman in the verification centre with her new baby. It is a pretty big problem, the worker remarked.
Mohammed Ahmed Abdullahi, the director of information and communication at the office of the head of the federation’s civil service, blamed the disruptive behaviour of the public officials for the delay in the verification in a statement to The ICIR.
He said that the portal was functional.
“They are not at all being fair. We are expected to act in a civil manner in both the workplace and at home because we are civil servants. They need us to send the police or civil defence to put them on the line so that they can be confirmed because they are unable to control themselves.
“They are all responsible adults who have kids at home. What moral justification do they have for controlling their kids if they can’t even manage themselves? They are grownups. Why are they fighting, jumping over fences and railings, and damaging properties? Abdullah enquired.
He counselled the staff to maintain order and composure. Seven teams, according to him, were at the Public Service Institute to care for the employees.
According to Abdullahi, the fundamental goal of the verification process was to purge the civil service of any phantom employees.
However, in response to Abdullahi’s assertions, the government servant who spoke with The ICIR claimed it was improper to assemble 17,000 individuals in one location without appropriate and proper planning.
“We have about 17,000 people there from all over Nigeria; we are not the ones who are supposed to be organised. Seven teams are capable of what? He queried.
Even though the verification process began on Monday, he claimed there was no plan in place for lodging, food, or any other requirements.
All civil officers and employees whose information had not yet been entered into the IPPIS were ordered to participate in the verification process by the Federal Government.
It was anticipated that approximately 17,000 federal employees nationwide will take part in the activities.
The work was described in a circular from the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation dated October 3, 2023, with reference number HCSF/HRM/M.1125/T4/194.
According to the ICIR, 61,446 civil officials from various government ministries, departments, and agencies were validated on the IPPIS, according to the Head of Service of the Federation (HoSF), Folashade Yemi-Esan.
In July 2022, Yemi-Esan made this disclosure at the 43rd Ministerial Media Briefing hosted by the Presidential Communications Team at the State House in Abuja.
She continued by saying that because they had not been validated on the platform, 3,657 civil servants had been brought before the Independent and Corrupt Practises and Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
She claims that at least 1,618 applicants circulated fraudulent or unlawful appointment letters.
874 cops were removed off the IPPIS platform, she continued.
