The Federal Government has uncovered and removed 1,618 civil servants with illegal and fake employment letters from the Integrated Personnel Payroll and Information System (IPPIS) over the past year.
This was revealed by Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan, the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, during a media parley marking the 2024 Civil Service Week.
According to her, the physical verification process conducted by various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) has reduced the federal civil service workforce from over 100,000 to 69,308 verified employees on the payroll.
Her words: ”The verification exercise identified ghost workers with fake employment letters. Additionally, it revealed some civil servants who had relocated abroad (“Japa”) and returned briefly for verification.
”Many of these individuals resigned instead of undergoing the verification process, citing the inability to obtain extended leave from their overseas employers.”
Dr. Yemi-Esan also highlighted ongoing collaborations with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to eradicate corruption within the civil service.
She said: “My office has been working in synergy with ICPC and EFCC to ensure that underhand dealings are eliminated from the system.
“Significant progress has been made to transform and digitize work processes, with all MDAs mandated to achieve full migration by the end of 2025.”
She added that the Federal Government’s efforts to cleanse the civil service of fraudulent activities and to digitize its operations are part of a broader initiative to enhance efficiency and transparency.
These steps are crucial for optimizing service delivery and ensuring that public resources are managed effectively,” she stated.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has called to attention the critical role of public-private partnerships in achieving significant improvements in public service delivery and reaching a 70 per cent digitalisation target by 2025.
This was articulated by Ibrahim Adeyanju, the Director General of Galaxy Backbone, during the one-day 1Government Cloud digitalisation retreat for Federal Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) in Abuja.
Adeyanju emphasized the government’s commitment to enhancing service delivery through a unified Government Service Portal, which will provide seamless access to services from all MDAs.
