House to Probe Alleged Fraud in IPPIS

House to Probe Alleged Fraud in IPPIS

By Udora Orizu

The House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts, yesterday set up an enquiry into allegations that the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, (IPPIS,) was riddled with fraud and irregularities, which had led to the none payment of salaries and allowances of Federal Civil Servants.

The committee initiated the inquest in the course of engaging tertiary institutions and other agencies on their financial audit reports for 2018-2019.

The committee was alarmed that leakages and sharp practices were observed in the course of their earlier engagement, with other agencies, particularly, the J.S. Tarkar University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Benue State.

The Rector of the school, told the committee, that pending salaries for the years under review, were due to anomalies in the IPPIS, a salary payment system introduced by the President Muhammadu Buhari government in 2017.

He said the backlog of salaries is from people, who were not captured by IPPIS.

In his response, the Chairman, Hon. Wole Oke said, ‘’That’s why we must look into IPPIS. We were told here, that the salaries of personnel of the University of Agriculture, Makurdi (Benue State), went into accounts of staff of Jigawa State. IPPIS must be investigated, to detect some of the irregularities observed in the system. We have observed some serious irregularities in the system’’.

The committee, then resolved to write the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmad and the Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris to explain alleged sleaze, in the federal staff payment system.

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