REMARKS DELIVERED ON THE OCCASION OF THE INAUGURATION OF THE COMMITTEE ON ENROLMENT OF NEWLY RECRUITED CIVIL SERVANTS ON IPPIS HELD IN ABUJA

PROTOCOLS

May I warmly welcome you all to the inauguration of the Committee on the Enrolment of newly recruited civil servants onto the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS).

2. You will agree, that this decisive step by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation as mentioned in our 19th February, 2021 Circular (Ref. HCSF/CMO/IPPIS/.I/I/502) is long overdue and necessitated by the need to finally nip in the bud the embarrassing wanton impunity, sharp practices, irregularities and fraud perpetrated on the IPPIS, as well as to purge the system of all infiltrations.

3. In this regard, it is most disheartening to state that there have been a huge number of fake letters presented in some Ministries. For instance, in the past year, the Federal Ministry of Information identified over 1,000 individuals bearing fake letters of appointment which the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation in collaboration with security agencies is looking into.

4. Similarly, the Office has found cases in the Ministries of Labour and Employment, Power, Health, as well as Finance, Budget and National Planning among many others. It is worth noting that if this trend is not addressed, a great number of prospective and eligible law-abiding job-seekers in the country will continue to be denied entry into the service having their potential positions occupied by individuals who unduly exploit loopholes in the system.

5. At inception, the IPPIS Project implementation focused mainly on Payroll and not on the HR in view of Government’s desire to block financial leakages from high personnel cost caused by ghost workers. This however created a gap leading to series of implementation issues.

6. Accordingly, the office commenced activities towards the implementation of the Human Resource (HR) Module of IPPIS with a view to bridging some of the identified gaps. As at January 2021, over 291,009 Public Servants have updated their records on the IPPIS HR verification portal while a total number of 394,472 officers have been captured on payroll.

7. In addition, it is worth noting that after the IPPIS cleanup exercise of the core MDAs carried out between 2019 and 2020, the office has a total number of 62,837 officers on the platform from core-MDAs as against the about 77,000 officers on the IPPIS payroll. The post cleanup number represents those that carried out the online record updates and made themselves available for physical verification. It means the balance number of about 15,000 have to be suspended on the IPPIS Platform.

8. In this regard, I am also pleased to announce that the HR Module on the IPPIS for all core-MDAs is now Live. The services found on the module include:  IPPIS Employee Request  Personal Information  Annual Leave Plan  Absence Management  Payslip; and 4  Incident Report etc MDAs are therefore advised to ensure close monitoring of implementation.

9. As you may be aware, as part of our control mechanisms, we are presently conducting IPPIS Human Resource (HR) Verification Exercise for the Employees of Non-Core Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAS) in batches starting with Abuja after extending our earlier deadline for the closure of the IPPIS HR Verification Portal. The entire exercise which will also cover MDAs in all the Geopolitical zones of the country is expected to end with a Mop-up Verification Exercise across the non-core MDAs in October, 2021.

10. At this juncture, I wish to acknowledge and sincerely appreciate the support and will demonstrated by Mr. President, His Excellency, Muhammadu Buhari towards the successful implementation of the HR module of the IPPIS which he directed on my assumption of office. Thus, we will not relent on our efforts, determination and commitment to the maintenance of a transparent, accountable and uncompromised IPPIS platform that will rid the system of ghost workers, reduce personnel cost and enhance economic planning among other benefits.

11. Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, it is equally pertinent to make it clear, that Public Service employments are subject to the grant of waivers which is the exclusive responsibility of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation. However, it has been observed that some Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) have been recruiting and subsequently enrolling individuals on the IPPIS Platform without following due process which is an aberration and contravenes the established procedures. The process entails granting of a ‘Waiver’ by this Office, ‘Financial Clearance’ by the Budget Office of the Federation (BoF) and issuance of ‘Compliance Certificate’ by the Federal Character Commission (FCC) where applicable.

12. This, therefore, underscores the importance of constituting the crack team of seasoned professionals to be inaugurated at this meeting. I am persuaded that they will correct the existing anomaly and henceforth scrutinize the process to ensure proper checks and control.

13. The membership of the Committee on the Enrolment of Newly Recruited Civil Servants on IPPIS is as follows: 6 i. Perm-Sec, Career Management Office (OHCSF)……Chairman ii. Consultant (IPPIS) (OHCSF)………………………………..Member iii. Director (IPPIS) (OAGF)……………………………………Member Others are: iv. Director (Recruitment) (Fed. Civil Service Comm)…...Member v. Director (Employee Mobility) (OHCSF)………………….Member vi. Director (ODD)(OHCSF)……………………………………Member vii. Deputy Director IPPIS (OHCSF)…………………………..Secretary

14. Accordingly, the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the Committee shall include but not limited to the following: i. Identify the challenges/problems associated with the old process to guide the new process; ii. Examine the new processes of enrolling newly recruited officers on the IPPIS Platform; iii.Identify the benefits that might be derived from the new process including cost savings where possible; iv.Initiate the process of enrolling new employees on the IPPIS Platform guided by the new procedure; v. Ensure that the enrolment of new employees on IPPIS is based on the approved waivers from the OHCSF; vi.Treat and capture all backlogs of newly recruited Officers based on the new procedure, subject to authentication of appointment letters, approved waivers; financial clearance and Federal Character Commission Compliance Certificate where applicable; vii.Recommend appropriate sanctions on defaulting MDAs, and individuals identified to have abused, breached or manipulated the process; viii. Ensure no further enrolment of newly recruited Officers on the IPPIS Platform is done without the approval of the committee; ix. Liaise with major IPPIS Control Offices especially the OHCSF, OAGF, FCSC and other relevant MDAs for necessary information that would facilitate the seamless conduct of the committee’s assignments; x. Identify and remove all officers illegally enrolled into the IPPIS Platform including savings made, where possible; xi.Submit monthly report on the number of staff captured or suspended on the IPPIS Platform; and xii.Any other activity/role deemed necessary to enable the Committee achieve its mandate.

15. For posterity sake, I urge to see this assignment as a matter of national importance which demands that you bring your wealth of experience to bear and work assiduously to ensure that we have an IPPIS Platform that is reliable, credible and free from infiltration by unwanted elements.

16. While appreciating all appointed members for making themselves available to serve, it is my pleasure and honour to inaugurate the Committee on the Enrolment of Newly Recruited Civil Servants onto the IPPIS platform to the Glory of God.

17. Thank you and I wish you Godspeed.