The Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission has commenced interrogation of some civil servants over
allegations that they may be ghost workers, the Head of Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, said on Monday in Abuja.
According to her, the measure was aimed at sanitising the civil service in line with global best practices.
She also confirmed that the Federal
Government was indebted to retired federal civil servants to the tune of
N293bn, adding however that government was at crossroads on how to get
resources to offset the debts.
“On assumption of office, I met
service-wide staff claims for promotion arrears, first 28 days,
repatriation allowance, death benefits and other staff claims totalling
about N293bn. The issue was presented to Mr. President and he expressed
deep concern and immediately directed the Minister of Finance to address
the situation.
“The payments would have been made but
for the resource constraints of the government. We are working with the
Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation on the phased payment
formula and would conclude in due course,” the HoCSF said.
Oyo-Ita spoke while answering questions
from journalists after addressing a press briefing in commemoration of
the Civil Service Week, scheduled to commence on Wednesday.
Already, she said, some civil servants were being quizzed by the EFCC in relation to the issue of ghost workers.
She said this was the first time in the history of Nigeria that government would be paying strict attention to the issue of ghost workers, adding that the introduction of the BVN had also helped in exposing the lapses.
“This is the first time the administration is tackling the issue of ghost
workers like this. We are cleaning the Integrated Personnel Payroll
Information System and a lot of suspicious names have been detected. The
introduction of Banks Verification Number has also helped in the
detection of ghost workers. Many people are facing interrogation with the EFCC.
“You will just see them and later you
won’t find them again; they have not been kidnapped but they are
answering different questions from the EFCC,” she said in response to
questions on sanctions for those involved.
She however doused apprehension that the
Federal Government was planning to retrench some of its workforce due
to economic downturn.
Oyo-Ita said the government’s main focus
was to reduce the number of Ministries, Department and Agencies, saying
“restructuring does not equate to retrenchment.”
According to her, the N293bn debt was
incurred through factors including service-wide staff claims,
particularly those bordering on promotion arrears, First 28 days,
repatriation allowance and death benefits among others.
She said the government was considering a
phased payment formula, while the Presidency had directed the Minister
of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, and the Office of the Accountant-General
of the Federation to explore ways of making the payments.
Also commenting on the issue of
appointments of Permanent Secretaries, tenure extension and the effect
of the tenure elongation policy, Oyo-Ita stated that it was the
prerogative of the President to appoint a permanent secretary as well as
extend the tenure.
She however stated that irregular
appointment of those who did not get into the service through the right
channel would be reversed.
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