From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
Following the auditing of salaries of Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs), National Salaries Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) saves the Federal Government over N400 billion yearly.
Speaking at the opening of a two-day training for salary inspectors, in Abuja, the Chairman of NSIWC, Mr Ekpo Nta, disclosed that from 2016 to 2022, there was a sharp rise in personnel cost totalling N20.76 trillion.
According to him, in 2016, the total personnel cost was N1.69 trillion. In 2017, it rose to N2.90 trillion and in 2018, it got to N2.97 trillion.
Equally, in N2019 and N2020, the cost went from N2.29 trillion and N3.05 trillion respectively.
Similarly, in 2021 and 2022 the rise shot to N3.75 trillion and N4.11 trillion, respectively.
Nta urged the salary inspectors to ascertain the compliance of public service establishments with the government’s staff compensation policy.
They should also identify infractions by establishments against government’s pay policy and take measures to correct them.
Apart from identifying specific problems of salary administration, they are to gather data on remuneration policies and practices of government agencies to enrich the commission’s database on staff compensation.
“The commission has through this inspection and other activities in the past saved the government over N400 billion per year which would have been abused, wasted or misappropriated,” he said.
The chairman of the commission also noted that the personnel cost in the 2023 appropriation act is over N4.9 trillion while the overhead cost (made up of more than 50 per cent of non-regular allowances and fringe benefits) is over N1 trillion.
“It’s through salary inspection that the commission monitors the implementation of this personnel cost and non-regular allowances/fringe benefits components of overhead cost to reduce financial leakage and abuse,” Nta explained.