FG uncovers 1,500 civil servants with fake employment letters

The Federal Government of Nigeria said it had uncovered no fewer than 1,500 workers who joined the Federal Civil Service with fake appointment letters.

Folasade Yemi-Esan, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, revealed this when she spoke at the ‘National Policy Dialogue on Entrenching Transparency in Public Office Recruitment in Nigeria’, an event held in Abuja on Tuesday.

According to Yemi-Esan, those identified would be removed from the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS).

She explained that more than 1,000 persons were discovered in one ministry, while 500 others were found in other ministries, departments and agencies.

Yemi-Esan said, “In the past year, in one ministry alone, over 1,000 individuals bearing fake letters of appointment were detected.

“The office recently received a report, from the Federal Civil Service Commission, of over 500 persons in various MDAs in possession of fake letters of appointment.

“Following the Service-Wide Verification Exercise for officers recruited from 2013 – 2020, the commission also requested the suspension of salaries of over 3,000 officers across the MDAs.”

She added that they refused to appear for the exercise and would not be paid pending further clearance.

As of March, over 380,000 officers had been captured on IPPIS – 66,000 and 320,000 for core and non-core MDAs.

The Civil Service boss decried corruption in recruitment processes and vowed that the government would ensure the system is cleaned up to reduce job seekers’ contact with public officials.