President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has reportedly suspended the Assistant Director in the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation for alleged salary padding.
According to a report by Tribune, President Tinubu has directed the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN to stop further payments to the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, MDAs, of the Federal Government till further notice.
The report stated that the order was issued before the embattled CBN boss Godwin Emeifiele was suspended and handed over to the Department of State Services DSS for further action.
A source in the presidency referenced by the newspaper said that the directive was total and clear, with no exception.
Investigation revealed that following the development, the MDAs have placed a total embargo on payments to their creditors till further notice and as well finding it difficult to operate as no more money coming from the government.
A Director General of a federal Government Agency told stated that the directive had grounded operations for the second weeks running now as the Agency had no money to run its operations.
According to him, “Federal Government has placed an embargo on CBN to stop further payments to the MDAs
It was gathered that the Assistant Director at the OAGF in charge in charge of staff salary was alleged to have connived with some staff to pad up the salaries of an unspecified number of lower-level staff.
According to findings, many civil servants across several Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), including the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) and Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF), have been suspended for alleged salary padding on the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS).
The development was confirmed by a top official in the office of the Accountant General of the Federation, who hinted that those identified had been placed on suspension pending investigation.
According to him, “The scam was discovered when a level 7 officer whose salary should be in the range of N60,000 was paid over N400,000, which was in the range of a salary package of a Director.
” The salary padding racket had been on for a while among a small clique of civil servants in different MDAs with the IPPIS office in the OAGF as the epicenter.
The source further hinted that ” a staff suspected to be connected with the breach has been suspended to allow for a thorough investigation.”
“All necessary steps are being taken to strengthen the controls around the IPPIS payment platform, and an independent forensic audit of the entire payroll system is underway to ascertain if the reported breach is isolated or widespread,” the source further added.
