The federal government has raised concerns that fake government agencies and possible fake personnel could undermine the substantial increase in salary and allowance payments to civil servants, with between N9.4 trillion and N9.5 trillion already spent on incremental payments.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents on decisions taken at Wednesday’s meeting of the Federal Executive Council.
Oyedele said the concern was part of the reason President Bola Ahmed Tinubu directed that the ongoing review into fake government agencies should extend to the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS).
He said the existence of fake agencies raised the possibility that fake employees could also be captured within government payroll systems.
“If you have fake agencies, you most likely have fake employees,” Oyedele said.
According to him, the federal government could not afford to have fake personnel on its payroll at a time when President Tinubu was taking steps to improve salaries and wages.
He said fake personnel would undermine the government’s ability to pay genuine civil servants who were carrying out their duties.
Oyedele disclosed that the government had held a session with the media on subsidy savings, incremental revenue, borrowing and how the funds were being spent.
He said the figures showed that between N9.4 trillion and N9.5 trillion had gone into incremental payments of salaries and allowances to civil servants.
According to the minister, the amount was much more than the savings that had accrued to the Federal Government.
“We don’t want to be further constrained by fake agencies and fake personnel,” he said.
Oyedele said the federal government was taking the matter seriously and would provide updates as the investigation progressed.
The concern over fake personnel formed part of a broader directive by President Tinubu for a forensic investigation into the government systems that allowed fake agencies to emerge.
Oyedele said the Federal Executive Council had directed that the investigation examine the processes and procedures involved, internal control weaknesses, as well as the administrative, accounting and governance aspects of the system.
He said his office would work with other relevant agencies and departments of government to address the issue holistically.
