The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) has introduced stricter verification requirements for enrolling newly recruited federal workers on the government payroll, warning that employees whose records are incomplete or contain discrepancies will not be admitted until the issues are resolved.
The new directive, which takes immediate effect, requires Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to ensure that newly recruited employees are captured on their nominal rolls and meet all prescribed validation and eligibility requirements before being enrolled on the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS).
The OAGF disclosed this in a statement issued on Monday by its Director of Press and Public Relations, Bawa Mokwa, as part of efforts to strengthen accountability, transparency and efficiency in federal payroll management.
Under the revised process, MDAs must formally submit requests for payroll admission, accompanied by recruitment approvals, appointment letters, applicable waivers and other supporting documents.
The office said the documents and employee records, including salary structures, grade levels, steps, allowances and other financial entitlements, would undergo thorough verification.
The validation will also cover employees’ Pension Fund Administrator details, pension identification numbers, National Housing Fund registration and tax records to ensure accurate deductions and timely remittances.
Following the initial verification by the OAGF, employee records will be sent to the relevant MDAs for confirmation and endorsement by their accounting officers, directors of human resources, directors of finance and accounts, and designated payroll validating officers before final processing.
The OAGF said admission into the federal payroll would be subject to satisfactory completion of the validation process and approval by the Accountant-General of the Federation.
It directed permanent secretaries, heads of agencies and other relevant officials to ensure strict compliance, adding that officers responsible for processing and approving payroll admissions would be held accountable for breaches of applicable rules.
The office said the new arrangement was part of the re-engineering of IPPIS payroll processes, with MDAs expected to assume greater responsibility for managing and accounting for their personnel budgets and nominal rolls.
The directive applies to all ongoing and subsequent payroll admission processes for newly recruited federal employees.
