In a bid to curb to salary fraud, the Nigerian government has mandated that all employees registered on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, IPPIS update their personal details.
This directive, issued by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) and signed by Dr. (Mrs) Oluwatoyin Madein, requires government employees to access the newly launched OAGF-IPPIS Payroll Validation Portal starting from Monday, July 1, 2024.
The update period will end at midnight on Wednesday, July 31, 2024.
The announcement was made through a federal treasury circular sent to the Chief of Staff to the President, all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), the Clerk of the National Assembly, the National Security Adviser, and Heads of internal audit, accounts divisions, and diplomatic missions.
Dr. Madein highlighted the significance of this exercise, stating that “upon successful submission of the update, employees are expected to print three (3) copies of the completed record update summary page which will be used in the future for physical staff verification exercises.”
She further explained that the initiative was prompted by inaccuracies and incomplete records observed in the payroll system, thus necessitating the update and validation process.
The OAGF has created a user-friendly validation portal for this purpose. Employees are instructed to visit the OAGF website at www.oagf.gv.ng to access the portal. To complete the update, they will need their IPPIS Number, Salary Account Number, and a valid Tax Identification Number (TIN), which can be obtained from the Joint Tax Board (JTB) site.
Dr. Madein cautioned that non-compliance with this directive would lead to suspension from the payroll, underscoring that “all employees are expected to update their Payroll Information on the Portal within the period stated above unfailingly.
Any employee that fails to avail himself/herself of this opportunity will be suspended from the payroll.”
Additionally, Accounting Officers, Directors/Heads of Finance and Accounts, and Internal Audit Units of MDAs and other government arms have been instructed to ensure compliance and widely disseminate the circular.
This directive follows President Bola Tinubu’s recent mandate that civil servants drawing salaries while living abroad must refund the money.
The President also stated that supervisors and department heads involved in facilitating such fraudulent activities will face disciplinary action.
An anonymous source within the OAGF remarked, “this is the first step in the process to sanitise the system as directed by Mr. President.”
This rigorous measure underscores the government’s commitment to promoting accountability and integrity within the public service.
