FG Imposes Strict Rules For Newly Recruited Employees

BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja

The Federal Government has imposed strict rules for newly recruited employees, directing the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA) to take greater responsibility for managing their personnel budgets and maintaining accurate records of employees.

This followed the overhauling of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System, targeted at strengthening accountability, preventing irregular payroll admissions and improving the management of government personnel expenditure.

Director of Press and Public Relations, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Bawa Mokwa said on Monday in Abuja, that no employee should be admitted into the Federal payroll without completing mandatory documentation and eligibility checks.

 “Henceforth, no newly recruited employee shall be enrolled without first being captured on the nominal roll of the relevant MDA and satisfying all prescribed validation and eligibility requirements, “the OAGF said.

Under the arrangement, the government institutions seeking to enrol newly recruited workers must formally submit requests to the OAGF, accompanied by recruitment approvals, appointment letters, applicable waivers and other supporting documents.

The OAGF stated that the documents would undergo verification alongside employee records, salary structures, grade levels, steps, allowances and other financial entitlements before payroll admission could be approved.

This is even as the additional checks were intended to ensure that only properly documented and eligible employees are included in the government’s salary payment system.

The validation process will cover statutory details, including Pension Fund Administrator information, pension identification numbers, National Housing Fund (NHF) registration and tax records to ensure accurate deductions and timely remittances.

Following the initial verification, employee records will be returned to the relevant ministry, department or agency for further confirmation.

The Accounting Officer, Director of Human Resources, Director of Finance and Accounts, and designated Payroll Validating Officer must endorse the records before they are submitted to the OAGF for final processing.

Also, the final admission into the Federal Government payroll will be subject to satisfactory completion of all validation procedures and the approval of the Accountant-General of the Federation.

The OAGF informed that the directive introduces multiple levels of verification involving both the employing institution and the central payroll authority, with officials required to confirm the accuracy of recruitment and salary information.

While stating that applications containing incomplete documentation or discrepancies would not be processed until the identified problems had been resolved, the OAGF informed that any employee record with incomplete documentation or unresolved discrepancies will be deferred from payroll admission until all prescribed conditions are fulfilled.

The office stated that officials responsible for processing and approving payroll admissions would be held accountable for violations of the applicable regulations, mandating the Permanent Secretaries, Heads of Agencies and other relevant government officials to ensure strict compliance with the revised requirements.

Also, the measures apply to all ongoing and subsequent payroll admission processes involving newly recruited federal employees.

The OAGF disclosed that the directives formed part of a broader re-engineering of IPPIS processes to improve transparency, efficiency and accountability in personnel management, placing greater responsibility on individual MDAs to ensure that their nominal rolls correspond with approved recruitment records and personnel budgets.