The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Payroll

  • POEM: Payroll experts

    POEM: Payroll experts

    • By Chuka Nnabuife

    He spoke in mitigated speech

    Whereas he saw danger beckon rush

    He whispered his cautions,

    Couching it in innuendoes

    Of’ifs,’ ‘buts’, ‘howevers’ and thoughs

    Amid plethora of caveats

    Before he ends

    The hammer drops

    Then he turns to says:

    “But I told Boss”

    “He heeds no advice”

    He hides under cover

    Of being below ladder

    To cause the worse happens

    Read Also: Abiodun promises 10,000 housing units by 2027

    Though he could avert

    After the thunder strike

    He calls attention to the lightening

    His alerts, all in revert –

    Never ever overt

    Yet he boasts he’s ‘expert’

    Of this

    Of that –

    All about wads of parchment

    In his closets gathering dust

    Aiming at just

    Higher notch in payroll

    Like ostrich with big wins

    But can’t fly

    He’s hugely potentials – heavy

    Never capacity – fit

    Yet he boasts he’s ‘expert’ –

    Tens of them in one pay roll

    Adapt at no trait, just heavy on enabling threats

    Very keen

    So, so keen on deadly bickering,

    In-fighting and outwitting one another

    Mission, vision or capacity.

  • Fayose: dead civil servants’ names on Ekiti’s payroll

    Fayose: dead civil servants’ names on Ekiti’s payroll

    The names of many dead civil servants are still on Ekiti State’s payroll, Governor Ayo Fayose said at the weekend.

    He warned that officials in charge would henceforth be held responsible to prevent financial leakages, which, he said, are robbing government of millions of naira.

    According to the governor, such funds supposed to be channelled to other places for people’s benefit.

    The governor handed down the warning at the weekend during a meeting with Directors of Finance and Accounts, Directors of Administration, Chief Internal Auditors and others from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

    The meeting was convened to find solutions to the problems associated with generating wholesome nominal and pay rolls by the MDAs.

    Fayose added that his administration might stop the central payment of state and local government workers’ salaries.

    Local governments, he said, would be encouraged to pay their workers at their own levels.

    Warning against what he called “careless endorsement of documents by civil servants, Fayose frowned at a situation whereby people that had left the service or are dead still had their names on the nominal roll.

    He said: “Unfortunately, such names are still not removed when the pay roll is being prepared as well. Why should we be spending our scarce resources wastefully?

    “We are no longer going to tolerate the issue of buck-passing, where someone would claim he is not the one that generates the nominal roll and so does not properly go through before preparing the payroll.

    “Henceforth too, the nominal and pay rolls must be properly scrutinised by the internal auditors before being signed. The system has adequate checks and balances already in place and if not for collusion by concerned public servants, no sharp practices could take place.

    “It is advisable that every officer properly goes through any document before signing such, as the person who endorses any document is going to be held responsible in case of any trouble,” he said.

  • Fed Govt saves N185b from new payroll system

    The Federal Government has saved over N185 billion from the implementation of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS),  Bureau of Public Service Reforms, Director-General Dr Joe Abah has said.

    He said remarkable reforms had taken place in the civil service, including the removal of 65,000 ghost workers from IPPIS.

    Abah spoke on Tuesday while presenting the “Status Report of Reforms” at a five-day Specialised Reforms/SERVICOM Training Programme in Abuja.

    “We started off with a completely inaccurate and unreliable payroll system. Since we put IPPIS in place in 2007, government has saved in the region of N185 billion and weeded out  65,000 ghost workers,” he said.

    He said the Work Efficiently Unit saw the identification of another 23,000 who were collecting multiple salaries.

    “IPPIS has been a great success, but it has some challenges and it has some weakness. One of the weaknesses is that as soon as the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) put in place IPPIS after piloting it for a couple of years, it was basically taken over by accountants and they started with payroll instead of with the Head of Civil Service Commission (HCSC).”

    Abah said it was possible to get on the payroll without being known by the Federal Civil Service Commission and that was why the Bureau still had issues with IPPIS. He, however, said the Bureau was working on that. “We are hoping that complete HCSC switch will come on board in July,’’ he said.

    He said the Bureau was also working with the Efficient Unit to ensure that the salaries were linked with the Bank Verification Numbers (BVN).

    Abah said civil servants shouldn’t allow people to accuse them of not doing well, saying that some of the reforms were working in spite of challenges. He said one of the reforms that had also worked in the civil service was the Contributory Pension Scheme.

    “Before 2004, if you retire; you will be entitled to a pension whether you actually get it, it is another matter because at 2004, we had Pension deficit of N43 billion. So, the real chance is that you could retire but wait for 10 years and you will actually not see the Contributory Pension Scheme; our pension pot is now credit of N4.8 trillion as at 2015,” he said.

    The DG, however, said there are still challenges as Nigeria is still not managing her Pension Funds Administrators (PFA) very well. According to him, “there is still a big gap between when you retire and actually when you start to get a pension sometimes a gap of about nine months – that is a gap we still need to deal with’.’

    Abah further said in terms of procurement, government was losing $10b annually as result of fraudulent procurement practices. He said of every one Naira one spends, 60 Kobo goes into fraud.

    According to him, since putting in place the Procurement Act in 2007, government has saved more than N650b.

    He, however, said there were issues with what was provided in terms of budget and what was released, which made procurement planning a little difficult.

    “You don’t know when the release of fund will come; you don’t know whether is coming in full or not, it is difficult to plan your procurement properly. There is still challenge with contract splitting that we need to deal with in procurement,’’ Abah said.

  • 765 illegal employees, 50 dead teachers in Bayelsa payroll 

    765 illegal employees, 50 dead teachers in Bayelsa payroll 

    The Bayelsa State Government, Thursday, said it found 765 illegally employed teachers and 50 dead persons in the payroll of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).

    A statement from Government House quoted the Executive Secretary, SUBEB, Mr. Walton Liverpool, as saying that the 50 dead persons were uncovered in Ogbia Local Government Education Authority.

    Liverpool, who has been in charge of SUBEB since the beginning of Governor Seriake Dickson’s government, said with the latest discovery the government would have saved about N100million monthly at the end of the exercise.

    He said the illegally employed teachers were discovered in all the local government areas with Ogbia topping the list with 230 persons.

    But there were fears that the ongoing cleansing in the sector was a way of reducing the bloated workforce in the educational system.

    Liverpool gave the figures as Southern Ijaw LGEA, 192, Sagbama LGEA, 136, Ekeremor LGEA, 108, Brass LGEA, 9, Nembe LGEA, 25, Yenagoa LGEA, 25 and Kolokuma/Opokuma LGEA, 40.

    He said:  “These sets of workers were illegally employed by fraudsters and now parading as civil servants. As you are all aware, since the inception of the present administration, an embargo has been placed on fresh employment, but some people went behind to employ their cronies and backdated it to 2007.

    “In course of our investigation, after cross checking the 2007 nominal roll and vouchers with the recent ones, it was discovered that over 765 names have been infused. This has been the practice of some scrupulous officers in the Local Government education Authorities.

    “Some of the affected workers are being aided by the Local Government Education Authority staff. As I am talking to you now, one of them is cooling off at the State Criminal Investigations Department and more will still be arrested”.

    Speaking on ghost workers, he said: “It will interest you to know that there are some people on the payroll that are residing in Lagos, Abuja and even Ghana and are drawing salaries in Bayelsa. I am not exaggerating, it is happening.

    “By the time, we conclude this exercise, more names will be discovered. I have my facts; those perpetrating the atrocities are from the Board headquarters but from the LGEAs. With this discovery, the state government has been able to save N100m from SUBEB alone.

    “At the end of the exercise, the state government will save over N100m from the education sector. As you are all aware, the State governor has directed all the Headmasters and Principals to prepare the monthly vouchers.”

     

  • Kano discovers 7, 629 ghost workers on payroll

    Kano discovers 7, 629 ghost workers on payroll

    Kano state government Tuesday said it has discovered 7, 629 ghost workers on the payroll of the government in the on-going biometric exercise for civil servants in the state.

    The Head of Service, Malam Muhammad Awwal Na’Iya who disclosed during a joint press conference with Commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammad Garba, said that the state was able to save overN283, 580, and 848.44 from the blocked ghost workers.

    Na’Iya said that the state presently has a workforce of over 150, 000 civil servants, while it pays over N8 billion as monthly salary.

    He explained that 17 staff were also discovered to be collecting double salary amounting to over N1 million per month, adding that investigation into their matter was on as they will face prosecution and be made to return state fund soonest.

    He also explained that 86, 373 civil servants were captured in the on-ogoing biometric exercise which he said will be continuous, “what we are having today is an interim briefing on the exercise. We want to say that since February the exercise started, we have not had any problem and we promise to keep you posted as we move on.”

    According to him, despite the dwindling financial resources facing the country, Kano state government has been able to pay workers’ salaries as at when due, “as I am speaking to you now, we are not owing workers in the state and we promise to ensure that workers’ welfare are always taking care of.”

    The Head of Service, however, warned civil servants who are collaborating with fraudulent elements to aid and abet collection of double salaries to desist from such act or be ready to receive their sack letters and face prosecution.

    He further noted that staff who were not captured in the on-going biometric data capture would be deleted from the payroll of Kano state government, adding that, “the exercise is still ongoing, however, concerted efforts are being made to ensure its successful completion soonest.”

     

  • 300 ghost workers on Kogi payroll, alleges governor

    300 ghost workers on Kogi payroll, alleges governor

    Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello has decried civil servants, who constitute a cog in the wheel of the state’s progress.

    He alleged that a committee handling  screening at the state and local government levels discovered fraud by civil servants.

    Addressing a crowd in Okene, headquarters of Kogi Central, at the weekend during a reception for him, the governor decried the ghost workers’ syndrome, saying the committee uncovered how a person “injected as much as 300 ghost workers into the payroll of a local government”.

    He said his administration would not spare the perpetrators.

    Bello said: “It is surprising that a person without the fear of God placed 300 ghost workers on the payroll of a local government.”

    He said after the screening,  only bonafide workers will receive salary.

    The governor said workers’ welfare was his priority, adding that the government paid two-month salary arrears in less than two months in office.

    His words: “The temptation to use the money for other things was great. But we prioritised workers’ welfare. We paid two-month salary arrears in less than two months in office.

    “We paid the first batch of salary across board without asking questions, although we knew the nominal rolls were compromised. This was to help the bonafide workers, who needed money to meet their responsibilities.

    “The second batch we paid with the guarantee of the head of each Ministry Department and Agency (MDA) because we reasoned that change begins with each of us, and a leader should know those working under his supervision.”

    The Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Dr. Ado Ibrahim, solicited cooperation and support for the governor to enable him deliver dividends of democracy.

    He stressed the need for peaceful co-existence, irrespective of tribe or religion.

  • Govt removes 23,846 ghost workers from payroll

    Govt removes 23,846 ghost workers from payroll

    Security to take over probe

    N2.293b now saved monthly

    No fewer than 23,846 non-existent workers’ names have been removed from the Federal Government payroll as a result of which the wage bill has reduced by N2.293 billion monthly, the Federal Ministry of Finance said yesterday.

    This is as a result of the BVN process which was carried out.

    A Federal Ministry of Finance statement said: “this figure represents a percentage of the number of non-existent workers who had hitherto been receiving salary from various ministries, departments and agencies”.

    The BVN audit has also reduced the list of military pensioners by 19,203. “The Military Pension Board has revised the amount payable for its due pension contributions on a monthly basis by N575million, following its annual verification exercise for military retirees.

    “This reduced the number of pensioners by 19,203 as a result of deaths since the last verification exercise in 2012,” the statement by Festus Akanbi, the spokesman for Finance Minister Mrs Kemi Adeosun, said.

    The statement added that further investigation of other suspected cases will continue in conjunction with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    The removal of non- existent workers from federal payroll and the attendant savings on salaries was made possible “because of the ongoing BVN-based staff audit and enrolment to the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS)”, the statement added

    The Federal Government is also making efforts to recover “salary balances in bank accounts as well as any pension contributions in respect of the deleted workers. This involves active collaboration with the concerned banks and the National Pension Commission (Pencom).”

    The Federal Government, the ministry said, is determined to continue the verification programme on a regular periodic basis in its efforts to reduce personnel cost.

    Since personnel costs represent over 40 per cent of total government expenditure, the Federal Government has vowed to continue to strengthen its payroll controls.

    “It plans to undertake periodic checks and to utilise Computer Assisted Audit Techniques under its new Continuous Audit Programme. This will ensure that all payments are accurate and valid. Requirements for new entrants joining the Federal Civil Service have also been enhanced to prevent the introduction  of fictitious employees in future” the statement said.

    Reacting to recent calls by the leadership of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) that the panel members investigating the cases of indicted civil servants be drawn from both government and labour, the Ministry explained that “the request could not be acceded to, as the investigations were of a criminal nature and would therefore be handled by the appropriate  investigative agencies”.

    The ongoing exercise, which is part of the cost-saving and anti-corruption agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, is key to funding the deficit in the 2016 budget, as savings made will ultimately reduce the amount to be borrowed.

    The strategy of using BVNs, rather than requiring the physical presence of each member of staff for biometric capture at the initial stage of verification, the finance ministry said, has significantly simplified and accelerated the progress of the payroll audit process and reduced the cost of implementation.

    With the adoption of the BVN platform to audit and sanitise the salary payment system, the Ministry has so far checked the details of about 312,000 civil servants currently enrolled on IPPIS.

    In some instances, the exercise showed that the names of some civil servants whose salaries are being processed are not consistent with the names linked to the accounts into which their salaries are paid.

    Individuals in this category are therefore either receiving salary payments from multiple sources (which could be different parastatals for example), or they are non-existent workers.

  • FG removes 23,846 ghost workers from payroll

    The Federal Government says it has removed 23,846 non-existent workers from its payroll.

    Consequently, the salary bill for February 2016 has reduced by N2.293 billion when compared to December 2015 at which time the BVN audit process commenced.

    A statement from the Federal Ministry of Finance on Sunday said “this figure represents a percentage of the number of non-existent workers who had hitherto been receiving salary from various ministries, departments and agencies.”

    The statement added that further investigation of other suspected cases will continue in conjunction with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    ” The removal of non existent workers from federal payroll and the savings on salaries was made possible because of the ongoing BVN-based staff audit and enrolment to the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS)”, the statement said.

    The Federal Government is also making efforts to recover “salary balances in bank accounts as well as any pension contributions in respect of the deleted workers. This involves active collaboration with the concerned banks and the National Pension Commission (Pencom).”

  • Osun discovers 71 ghost workers on payroll

    Osun discovers 71 ghost workers on payroll

    Seventy-one ghost workers were discovered in Osun State during the last screening exercise carried out among ministries, agencies and departments of government and public secondary schools.

    The Permanent Secretary, Local Government Service Commission and the Chairman of Personnel and Job Audit Committee on MDAs and Secondary Schools, Mr. Dayo Olaluwoye,  made the disclosure when submitting the final report of his Committee to the State Head of Service, Mr. Sunday Owoeye.

    Olaluwoye explained that out of the Seventy-one ghost workers, thirty-nine were deceased while thirty two were supposed living individuals, disclosing that the ghost workers have been collecting salaries without coming to the office.

    However, he expressed gratitude to workers for their cooperation during the period of the exercise.

    In his remarks, the Head of Service, Mr. Yinka Owoeye, commended the Committee for redeeming the image of the Civil Service by doing a thorough job while discharging the duty assigned to them.

    Owoeye, who observed that the MDAs and Secondary Schools Committee was just one of the four Committees set up for the screening exercise at the time, said that the use of Civil Servants for the screening exercise had saved the Government lots of money compared to the use of Consultants.

    The Head of Service emphasised that screening of workers is an on-going process, adding that those that had issues with their certificates should endeavour to clear themselves.

    He then charged all public officers in the State to be revenue collectors in their respective areas of operation in order to revive the economy of the state.