The Delta State Head of Service, Dr. (Mrs.) Mininim Oseji, has ordered an immediate halt to the approval of staff loans for civil servants whose salaries are already heavily burdened by deductions.
The directive, described as part of decisive measures to protect workers from financial distress and restore payroll integrity, was issued recently during an unscheduled inspection of the Delta State Computer Centre, Asaba.
Dr. Oseji, who was accompanied by the Permanent Secretary, Office of the Head of Service, Mr. Wilson Chukwuka, said the government would no longer tolerate payroll practices that financially strangle workers.
During the inspection, she frowned upon cases of staff absenteeism, absconding, lateness to work, the prolonged retention of casual staff beyond approved limits, and excessive salary deductions.
She reviewed staff time books and conducted random salary checks using the payroll system, uncovering what she described as troubling inconsistencies.
To improve transparency, the HoS directed an immediate adjustment of the payroll format to reflect “Gross Salary” rather than “Total Allowance.”
She also directed the Permanent Secretary to formally caution Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), especially Directors of Finance and Accounts, against excessive and unjustified deductions from workers’ salaries, warning that further infractions would attract sanctions.
She also instructed the Director of Computer, Mr. Tuoyo Eweto, to ensure the prompt monthly submission of the state’s wage bill and warned staff of the Computer Centre against soliciting inappropriate gratifications from financial institutions and other organisations handling salary deductions.
The visit, which featured the Head of Service personally reviewing payroll data, was aimed at strengthening audit verification, transparency and fraud control.
The visit also served as a follow-up to the two-day workshop on audit verification and fraud control held in November last year.
