The federal government Sunday raised the alarm that some individuals were determined to sabotage the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
The Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) stated the position against the backdrop of media reports that it had paid Armed Forces their April 2020 salaries.
The report alleged that the April 2020 salaries of military and paramilitary personnel was delayed “as a result of incapability and inexperience of the operators of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).”
The government said the IPPIS had saved ₦361 billion that could have been paid to corrupt civil servants.
Raising the alarm in a statement in Abuja, the OAGF: “The Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) Department in the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation confirmed that as at Friday, 8th May, 2020, the Armed Forces personnel had been paid.”
The statement was signed by Director (Information, Press and Public Relations) in the OAGF, Mr. Henshaw Ogubike.
It also said the delay “in the salary payment was due to the unexpected lockdown in the country which led to late submission of variations by the Agencies concerned and the need to accommodate their inputs in the April payroll accordingly.”
Countering the report, the statement said: “Officials of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) had given assurance that the salaries would be paid between 4th and 8th May, 2020” before the allegations became public.
He said: “Such report has the potency to incite the Armed Forces and the general public against the operations of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
“Staff of the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) and the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) are competent professionals who have demonstrated the will and capacity to get the job done.”
The statement further said: “Despite distractions and opposition from some quarters whose objectives is to sabotage, the government policy that has saved the nation over N361 billion.”
Military salaries’ delay
The statement also explained that salaries of Nigerian military personnel was delayed due to the unexpected lockdown in the country over the coronavirus pandemic.
The OAGF said the lockdown caused the late submission of variations by the agencies concerned.
OAGF spokesperson, Mr. Henshaw Ogubike, who made the clarifications in a statement, however said the payment had been made.
It said: “The Federal Government has completed the payment of the April 2020 salaries of Armed Forces personnel in the country.
“The Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) Department in the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation confirmed that as at Friday 8th May, 2020, the Armed Forces personnel had been paid.
“According to the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) Office, the delay in the salary payment was due to the unexpected lockdown in the country which led to late submission of variations by the Agencies concerned and the need to accommodate their inputs in the April payroll accordingly.
“This explanation became necessary in view of a Newspaper report which alleged that the April 2020 salaries of military and paramilitary personnel was delayed as a result of incapability and inexperience of the operators of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
“As mentioned in the newspaper report, officials of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) had given assurance that the salaries would be paid between 4th and 8th May, 2020. This was promptly carried out as noted earlier.
“The Vanguard Newspaper published that news report without cross checking facts or contacting the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) at all for update on the issue, deliberately misinforming and misleading the public with a view to achieving an unholy objective.
“Such report has the potency to incite the Armed Forces and the general public against the operations of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
“Suffice it to state that staff of the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) and the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) are competent professionals who have demonstrated the will and capacity to get the job done in line with the presidential directives, despite distractions and opposition from some quarters whose objectives is to sabotage the government policy that has saved the nation over N361 billion.”
