The Federal Government of Nigeria has identified and removed 1,618 civil service officers with fake employment letters from the Integrated Personnel Payroll and Information System (IPPIS) over the past year. This was announced by Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, the Head of the Federation’s Civil Service, during a media briefing in Abuja as part of the 2024 Civil Service Week.
Dr. Yemi-Esan detailed that the verification exercise, conducted by various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), reduced the previously inflated federal civil service workforce from over 100,000 to 69,308 verified employees. The exercise also revealed that some civil servants had left the country for better opportunities abroad but returned for the verification process, later tendering their resignations as they could not afford to stay longer in Nigeria.
Dr. Yemi-Esan emphasized that the Civil Service has been collaborating with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to tackle corruption within the system. Efforts to enhance the Federal Civil Service include a significant focus on digitization, with a mandate for all MDAs to achieve full digital migration by the end of 2025. She expressed confidence in the ongoing transformation and digitization of work processes, aimed at improving service delivery to Nigerians.