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EXCLUSIVE: Corruption: How Office Of Nigeria’s Accountant General Refused To Pay Civil Servants Five Months’ Salaries

In a document obtained by SaharaReporters, one of the workers affected, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said he has been working at the hospital since July 2018 and only one month, (November), out of his 2018 salaries, was paid.

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Some members of staff of the Federal Medical Centre in Abeokuta have expressed their grievances over the non-payment of their outstanding five months’ salaries.

In a document obtained by SaharaReporters, one of the four workers affected, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said he has been working at the hospital since July 2018 and only one month, (November), out of his 2018 salaries, was paid.

“I was given payment slips without payment, and inside the slip, it was written that they couldn’t get my account number. How can you pay my November salary without getting my account number first?” 

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The aggrieved workers, therefore, wrote a letter to the accounting section of the medical centre which gave them the go-ahead to write to Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS). 

Several letters were written to the Managing Director of IPPIS without any success.  

A letter was also written on behalf of the employees by the institution’s management to IPPIS and the accountant-general of the federation.

 

 

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A reliable source told SaharaReporters that once the payment slip is being issued out “the money is gone” and nothing can be done. 

Months after the letter was written, the affected workers were unable to get any response and that prompted the institution’s authority to write another letter as a reminder of the unpaid salaries.

It was also alleged that there are cabals in the finance section of the IPPIS that embezzle monies meant for workers in the federal civil service –but issue payslips to show salaries are paid. 

Another affected civil servant said: “I think the whole manipulation is from IPPIS office. The finance office of my institution (FMC, Abeokuta) had written several letters to IPPIS but to no avail. 

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“I was told that once the payment slip was issued the money is gone and the payslip issued to me by December indicated that I have been  paid July,  August,  September, October and December 2018 whereas my account was not credited, nothing was paid into the account.”

When SaharaReporters contacted the Assistant Director of Finance and Account Department of Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta, Mr. Samuel Idowu, he said the payment was not from the account section of the hospital. 

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“It is not that the management is deliberately holding their salaries and they don’t want to pay. The federal medical centre is not holding their money. The problem is from the IPPIS.

“Salary is not being paid by the institution. It is being paid centrally. The category of staffs is the new staff. They are not the old staff. Some had even made a personal visit to IPPIS that management made corroboration on their behalf to make their money paid to them.”

He claimed to have personally represented some of the members affected in Abuja and was told to inform the new employees to come with their printed account statement to ascertain if the money reflected in their account.

He said: “When you get your payment slip, to us it is assumed that the salary has been paid because it is the CBN/IPPIS that pay such a salary. When we were at IPPIS secretariat to complain, they informed us that such people should go and print their bank statement and tender which they did.”

“I believe when such persons had shown that evidence and there is no reflection of money in their account, frankly speaking, I do not know why the money should not be paid to them.”