By Chukwuma Umeorah
The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has commended Federal government for yielding to the union’s demand to reopen the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) Portal.
Recall that last month, it was reported that over 17,000 government employees were delisted from the IPPIS for failing to comply with a verification exercise spanning over five years.
However, in a statement released yesterday, the National President of ASCSN, Tommy Etim Okon stated that “Following intervention by the Union, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) agreed to reopen the IPPIS portal so that the over 17,000 Civil Servants who were delisted can do the necessary online documentation and physical verification in respect of their employment status.”
He expressed his appreciation to the government for acceding to the union’s demand. This is even as he enjoined Civil Servants undergoing the physical verification exercise at the Public Service Institute in Abuja to conduct themselves maturely so that the exercise can be conducted in orderly manner.
“As I speak right now, delisted Officers are undergoing physical verification at the Public Service Institute of Nigeria in Abuja. The exercise started on Monday 16 October 2023 and will go on till Friday 27 October 2023,” he added.
Okon also said that the OHCSF has also directed that pregnant women and nursing mothers with babies should go to the office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation in Abuja beginning from 18 October, 2023 to do their own verification.
“I urge pregnant women and nursing mothers to comply with this directive because it is intended to show compassion for this category of workers undergoing the exercise.
“I equally plead with our teeming members undergoing the Verification exercise to conduct themselves maturely despite the pressure they are passing through,” he added.
In addition to measures already in place, Okon suggested that the OHCSF should consider decongesting the crowd at the Public Service Institute further by identifying two or three Ministries that could undergo the exercise in a day to mitigate the tension and rowdiness at the venue.