The Head of the Civil Service of Nigeria, Mrs. Folashade Yemi-Eson, says the Civil Service of the Federation does not accept any form of percentage for employments by ministries, departments and agencies.
She was speaking while being cross examined at the resumed hearing of the Ad-hoc Committee To Investigate Federal Ministries, Department and Agencies, MDA’s Parastatals and Tertiary Institutions on Mismanagement of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, IPPIS, in Abuja.
” I want to categorically state that the Head of Service renders service to MDAs and we do not accept any percentage. Be it one or ten Percent”.
She said that the office of the Head of Service monitors employment weavers granted to agencies for compliance.
She noted that the HoS directed the IPPIS not to capture any employee that do not have the clearance from the Accountant General’s office, Budget office and Office of the Head of Service.
” The IPPIS is a payroll system dormiciled in the Accountant General’s office. We have kicked out everybody that is not on the payroll. By the time we conclude the verification, that system will work optimally,” he said.
She also noted that several agencies have defaulted in the employment and that once it comes to her notice, she petitions the Independent Corruption Practices and related Offenses Commission, ICPC.
The HoS stressed that the approval to advertise or not to advertise employments come from the Federal Character Commission and the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
She said that many Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government violate the recruitment waivers given to them by her office.
She stated that her office have a department under the permanent secretary special duties that goes round to monitor compliance with waivers, but that due to shortage of manpower, they can’t monitor every MDA.
The Head of Service explained that what they do is to select an establishment from each of the geopolitical zones to ensure that they don’t exceed the waivers.
The Head of Service refuted the allegation that her office recruit staff, explaining that they only have the mandate from the civil service commission to recruit junior staff that are on grade level one to six.
Mrs Yemi-Eson noted that most universities were granted waiver to recruit but due to some concerns, of employing more non academic staff to academic staff, the National Universities Commission has to handle that.
The chairman of the committee, Hon Yusuf Gagdi, asked for all approvals and waivers, queries granted to Ministries Departments and Agencies to be submitted to the committee.
He said that the committee seeks to bring about sanity in the Nigerian civil service system.
On his part the Director General of the Budget Office, Mr. Ben Akabueze, while responding to questions, said that his office does not recruit.
He said due to the large number of unwanted work force, the Budget office has to reduce its population from five hundred to three hundred and thirty.
He said that the Nigeria work force was too large and costing the government huge amount of money.
“We are over staffed in some areas and drastically under staffed in some,” Akabueze said.
He also admitted that there has been some employment malpractice in the past which led to the large number of civil servants paid by government.
“What we found overtime was that from one year to the next you’ll find additional staff on the payroll without waivers. We are in a good place now with the new control by the Office of the Head of Service,” he said.
Similarly, Accountant General of the Federation who was represented by Director Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, IPPIS, Mr. Emma Odeko, said that the IPPIS always insists on getting all approvals before capturing new staff.
He admitted that the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System was not full prove.
On appearance at the committee were Commissioners from the Federal Character Commission and the Chairman, the Director General Budget Office and Director IPPIS.
Confidence Okwuchi
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