SEVERAL federal civil servants nationwide have yet to receive their December 2023 salaries days after Christmas.
A source who chose to remain anonymous for fear of being victimised said only employees of revenue-generating organisations such as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), and many more received their December salary.
“Like generally now, they have not paid any salary for December unless some agencies that paid directly from their budget because they are autonomous, but no core civil servant has received December salary,” our source stated.
The source also claimed that salary payments to civil servants under President Bola Tinubu had been challenging since he took over in May 2023.
“Goodluck Jonathan paid salary every 25 of every month, sometimes 24. For December and Sallah, he sometimes paid on the 13th of that month to enable people to plan.
“Buhari came in; he was consistent with 28 or 29 of every month, but he didn’t pay during the festive period. He maintained 28 and 29. But since Tinubu took over, he pays the first week of the following month or the second week. Since he came in, he has been struggling to pay; it has never been very smooth,” he stated.
Another Abuja-based civil servant confirmed the development in a chat with The ICIR on Thursday, December 28.
He said he had received his salary and bonus by this time last year.
“Yes, I have not received my December salary, and I have not received any palliatives also. Buhari had paid both salary and palliatives by this time last year,” he said.
Responding to the claim, the Director of Communication in the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHoCSF), Mohammed Ahmed, confirmed in a chat with The ICIR that civil servants had not been paid their December salary.
Ahmed said the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation was not responsible for paying salaries.
“Everybody is yet to receive. We are not in charge of salary; it is the Accountant-General. They have not even paid the general people, talkless of those with issues. Our own is to write the Accountant general directing the office to pay, which we have done already, but they have not paid the salary; I think they are starting today,” Ahmed stated.
Attempts to speak to the spokesperson for the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Bawa Mokwa, were unsuccessful as his mobile phone was not going through, and he has yet to respond to a message sent to his mobile phone.
IPPIS verification crises
The ICIR reported in November that about 5,000 Federal Government workers might not receive their November and December salaries on time due to discrepancies in their records.
The National President of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), Tommy Okon, disclosed this in Abuja on Tuesday, November 28.
He said 2,772 workers had been confirmed and sent to the integrated payroll and personnel information system (IPPIS) for payment. However, there were still discrepancies in the dates of birth and first appointments of about 5,000 federal workers.
He implored the Federal Government to find a quick solution to the problem.
He appealed to the Federal Government through the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation to expedite action to ensure that December salaries were not delayed.
Meanwhile, in a Press release on December 12, 2023, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation provided an update on the IPPIS verification exercise.
According to the statement signed by the Director of Communication in OHoCSF Mohammed Ahmed, the records of 59,201 civil servants who participated fully in the verification exercise and had no discrepancies in their records were forwarded to the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation for continuous payment of their salaries.
However, the salaries of 11,447 officers whose records were not verified were suspended.
He added that on account of the suspension, the verification portal was reopened for the affected officers to update their records online between October 16 and October 27, 2023.
“A total number of 10,761 officers participated in the physical verification exercise. After the verification exercise, verifying records were reviewed in phases to ensure that only credible records were on the IPPIS platform.
“The names of officers with cleared records were sent to the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation immediately.
Some of these officers have received their salaries, while others will be paid in December with all the arrears.
“Files of 1,029 officers, who have discrepancies in their records, are still being expected from their MDAs to enable the office to authenticate their records, after which their salaries will be restored,” the statement said.
He stated that about 686 officers whose salaries were suspended did not show up for the verification exercise, and their salaries will remain suspended on the IPPIS platform.
5,000 federal workers may not get Nov., Dec. salaries
The ICIR reported in October that federal civil servants who gathered in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to be captured by the IPPIS accused the government of neglecting them.
The verification exercise brought civil servants from all over Nigeria to Abuja and was meant to verify their appointments.
The exercise, for employees yet to be captured by the IPPIS, took place at the Public Service Institute at Kubwa and the Conference Hall of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation.
A civil servant from Cross River State who chose to remain anonymous for fear of being victimised told The ICIR that nobody was attending to the workers at both venues, adding they were stranded for days.
He also lamented the suspension of their salaries by the Federal Government because the IPPIS did not capture them.
But speaking to The ICIR on the matter, the Director of Information and Communication at the office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mohammed Ahmed, blamed the unruly attitude of the civil servants for the delay in the verification.
He said the portal was working effectively.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance
People who work deserve to get paid no matter what. These people have families that they are responsible for.