17,000 Unpaid Federal Workers Summoned to Abuja for Salary Crisis Resolution
The Nigerian government has issued a directive requiring 17,000 federal civil servants, who have been grappling with salary delays since May 2023, to partake in a centralized registration process with a nationwide scope.
This directive, communicated via an official circular bearing the date of October 3, 2023, and reference number HCSF/HRM/M.1125/T4/194, is directed at all Permanent Secretaries. It predominantly affects civil servants across various core ministries, putting them in the position of having to travel to the nation’s capital, Abuja, for registration. These dedicated employees have been deprived of their rightful compensation for several months.
The affected federal workers, comprising around 17,000 individuals, are confronted by this directive. A notable example includes the Ministry of Labour and Employment, which accounts for 1,831 of the affected workforce. The registration process, an integral component of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), necessitates the physical presence of these employees at the Public Service Institute of Nigeria (PSIN) on Kubwa Expressway, Abuja, commencing from Monday, October 16 and concluding on Friday, October 27, 2023.
Amidst this development, one affected worker voiced their frustration, denouncing the government’s insistence on their physical presence in Abuja for registration as insensitive. This demand comes at a time when these civil servants are grappling with economic hardships resulting from the absence of salary payments since May.
It is worth noting that the IPPIS registration process was initiated in May 2017, repeated annually, and culminated in April 2023. Subsequent to the exercise, the Accountant General of the Federation was given instructions to disburse salaries exclusively to civil servants whose records had been duly verified and uploaded to the IPPIS portal.
The circular underlines that certain civil servants either failed to participate in the exercise or could not successfully complete it. This lapse led to the suspension of their salaries. Now, these suspended employees are being presented with a final opportunity to update their records on the IPPIS verification portal and undergo physical verification. This opportunity extends to two categories of officers: those who did not update their records online, and those who updated their records but encountered difficulties in completing the process or obtaining the conclusive slip.
The registration portal, accessible via https://verification.ippis.gov.ng, will be open to officers from Tuesday, October 3 to Tuesday, October 10, 2023. Subsequently, physical verification will be conducted from Monday, October 16 to Friday, October 27, 2023, at the Public Service Institute of Nigeria (PSIN) in Abuja, between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm on each of the designated days.
During the verification process, all officers are mandated to present various original documents, including letters of appointment, certificates, and identification. Additionally, they are required to complete a Personnel Verification Form, validated by their Heads of Department. The circular underscores that this constitutes the final opportunity for affected officers to complete this imperative exercise
Questions have arisen regarding the government’s methods, with some expressing concern over the absence of a more streamlined database for worker verification, which could have mitigated the strain imposed on workers as they embark on this exercise.