The salaries of over 2,000 civil servants working in Federal Government ministries, departments and agencies have been withheld, sources familiar with the matter confided in our correspondent on Monday.

A senior civil servant at the Federal Ministry of Defence, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity due to Public Service Rules which forbid civil servants from speaking to the press, noted that the majority of workers in the ministry had not received their salaries.

The civil servant further noted that the delay might not be unconnected to the recent verification conducted by the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation.

Another senior civil servant in a top federal government agency explained to our correspondent that a certain percentage of civil servants had their salaries withheld owing to discrepancies on the platform of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System.

“About 2,000 civil servants are actually involved and it’s due to failed verification on the IPPIS,” he said,

When contacted, the spokesperson for the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Bawa Mokwa, said, “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.”

The National President of the Association of Senior Civil Servants, Tommy Etim, told our correspondent that the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation had already started working on the issues.

Etim had earlier warned that about 5,000 civil servants risked forfeiture of their November 2023 and December 2023 salaries over IPPIS verification and other discrepancies.

“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.

“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.” (Text, excluding headline: The PUNCH)

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