Paschal Emeka, Abuja

The Head of Services of the Federation (HOSF) Dr. Folashade Yemi-Esan has explained that the reason the Service put on hold the salaries of 8014 civil servants across the country is that they failed to participate in the IPPI verification exercise.
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Dr. Folashade Yemi-Esan, who disclosed the 2023 budget proposal defense, at the National Assembly, Abuja, on Thursday, told lawmakers that the continued refusal of the affected civil servants to subject themselves to the IPPI verification exercise despite a decade grace given to them forced the Federal Government to stop their salaries.

She said: “Federal Government has given these Staff ample opportunity of over 10 years to do the needful, but they refused to do so, thus frustrating government efforts to effectively carry out the IPPI verification exercise for civil servants in the country.

According to her, the exercise which started in 2015 was aimed at using IPPI to ascertain the actual number of civil servants on the government’s payroll but lamented that despite the long period given to them as grace, they bluntly refused to comply with the directives.

The HOSF, however, declared that there is still room for them to conclude the exercise if they are willing to do so, adding that the door is still open for the verification to enable the government to release their salaries.

Speaking on fake employment syndrome in the civil service, she averred that the Federal Government had taken steps to put to an end the malaise by stopping outright the salaries of those involved and their cases referred to the ICPC for further action and prosecution, to serve as a deterrent to those who indulge in such shady deals.

When asked to throw more light on the controversial “Orosanya Report,” she said the government has set up a committee to look into the report and is awaiting the committee’s recommendations before taking appropriate actions.