Thousands of federal civil servants currently participating in the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) physical verification in Abuja felt dejected on Thursday due to overcrowding and rowdiness at the venue of the exercise.
When PREMIUM TIMES visited the Public Service Institute (PSI) venue of exercise along Kubwa road in the federal capital, the workers were seen battling to complete the exercise which will end on 27 October.
About 17,000 federal workers who failed to verify their details in the IPPIS previously are participating in the exercise which began on Monday 16 October and holds between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on each day.
A circular to all permanent secretaries directing the workers to enlist in the system had warned that “All concerned officers are to note that this is the last opportunity for the exercise.”
IPPIS was conceived in 2006 to centralise workers’ salary payments and serve as a means to facilitate convenient staff remuneration with minimal wastage, among others.
To ensure a smooth process in the ongoing verification, the civil servants, who came from different parts of the country, were divided into five groups comprising ministries, departments and agencies of the government.
During the visit to the centre, this newspaper witnessed how the workers struggled to get into the main building where the exercise was held. In the process, the place became rowdy because there were no law enforcement personnel to control the crowd.
Apparently frustrated, hundreds of workers both men and women, who could not gain entrance into the hall, sat down on bare floors while others were seen spreading wrappers to lay on them.
Those who are not residents of Abuja were particularly eager to complete the exercise and leave apparently because of the expenses incurred travelling to the federal capital.
Some of the workers who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES lamented the tiring process of the registration which is in five stages.
One of the workers, who did not want his name mentioned to avoid victimisation, said he arrived at the venue for the exercise on Thursday at exactly 6 a.m. and met a huge crowd.
He said he wrote his name on the piece of paper, which already contained the names of others who arrived on Wednesday.
He condemned the handling of the verification, saying the application of technology could have eased the burden associated with the registration.
According to him, the affected workers would not have travelled to Abuja especially because their salaries have been suspended.
He said the government should have allowed workers to do the registration remotely instead of undergoing the five processes at the centre.
“We could have adopted technology as a process to make it easier. What I mean is that it could have been done remotely by everybody. All that may be required is just one time seeing, which could easily be done in the six geo-political zones across the nation,” he said.
He also bemoaned the “insensitivity” on the part of the government to have compelled 17,000 workers to assemble in one space for the exercise, whereas it could have been done in their respective agencies.
He said some of their colleagues had accidents on their way to Abuja for this exercise even after the government had stopped their salaries.
A female worker from Taraba State, who is a teacher, jokingly told this reporter “here are we ooo” indicating she was not a ‘ghost worker”; a term used for non-existent personnel that earn salaries.
Unconfirmed reports said some of the workers fainted some days ago while participating in the exercise.
Head of Service speaks
Mohammed Abdullahi, director of communication in the office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, told PREMIUM TIMES that the rowdy sessions being experienced at the venue were a result of the inability of the workers to be civil.
He said workers are paying for their laxity in cooperating with the enrollment staff, saying, “They are first civil servants, their conduct at all times should be civil.”
“The affected workers must conduct themselves properly for the exercise to go on. We don’t have to take Civil Defence to that place before they’ll start to accuse us of intimidating them,” Mr Abdullahi said.
He said the office of the Head of Civil Service will not speed up the exercise in order not to make mistakes.
Mr Abdullahi advised the workers to stop being unruly and cooperate with the enrollment staff at the centre to ease the burden.
Verification began in 2019
The director explained that the verification began in 2019 but the 17,000 workers refused to participate since then, which led to the high number as well as the suspension of their salaries.
“The online portal for enrollment was opened since 2019, but seems those affected were not in the country.
“We stopped their salaries because they have not been verified, and if you are not verified, is as good as a ghost worker,” he said.
Mr Abdullahi said the ongoing exercise is thorough because the workers are expected to present their primary school certificates and other essential documents.
He said there is no provision of logistics for the workers because the office of the Head of Service does not have money for such.
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