There is an ongoing case of fraudulent salary deductions at the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), an officer of the security agency told SIGNAL on Monday.
The officer who did not want to be named said there were fraudulent deductions from the January 2020 salaries of officers of the NSCDC, adding that officials at the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation handling the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) may have attempted to cover up the fraud.
The officer presented his account with some supporting documents as follows:
“I work for the Civil Defence Corps. Following the table seen below, my monthly salary on level 11 step 4 is put at N188,219.8. Rent subsidy on annexure 2 for level 11 step 4 is N321,808 per annum. The rent subsidy when divided by 12 months = N26,817.33.
“If the monthly salary of N188,219.8 is added to the monthly rent subsidy of N26,219.8 it gives a sum of a little over N215,000. In December of 2019, the minimum wage payment was implemented for the Civil Defence. I got an alert of N216,000 which is in sync with the figures on the above table. The IPPIS mobile app reflected the payment on the app as December 2019 salaries. Few days later another N68,000 was credited as arrears from 18th April – 30th November 2019. The app also reflected that.
“The N68,000 by itself was by far less than expected of our arrears but we awaited official communication which never came. Nevertheless, we were treated to rumours as represented by this letter below.
“Though addressed to Immigration, we feared it could affect us because our conditions of service are the same. Eventually, in January of 2020, I received a salary of 96,000 in line with the above letter. Still no official communication but we were made to swallow the bitter pill.
“Summary of thoughts: (1) By the careful calculation based on the letter from Salaries and Wages Commission, I alongside my colleagues were not over paid in December 2019.
(2) We are yet to be paid arrears in full.
(3) The deductions from January 2020 salaries are not in order and an attempted deprivation of our due pay knowing we cannot complain without being charged for mutiny.
“As security officers, we are supposed to address crime but that is no longer the case. The regimentation and threat of mutiny has cowed many of us.
“The only thing that this Government fears is journalists who can expose the truth. That’s why you journalists represent the greatest threat to the Government and explains the hostility towards the media.”
When the news of the NSCDC salary deduction scandal broke two weeks ago, the spokesperson to the NSCDC, Emmanuel Okeh denied the report. Okeh, in a statement, stated that the deductions were made by the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, through the Integrated Personnel and Payroll System (IPPIS). He explained that the affected employees were overpaid in December 2019 due to a “system error” hence the deductions to recover the over-payment.
He said: “The attention of the corps management has been drawn to diverse allegations of fraud and misappropriation of funds by a number of aggrieved personnel who felt shortchanged due to some deductions in their salary.
“This is coming barely one week after the payment of January salary by the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, through IPPIS.
“The corps wishes to set the records straight that the business of salary payment is that of the Accountant-General of the Federation, and not the management of the NSCDC.
“It is unfair to accuse the corps leadership of tampering with salary of personnel at time management is making concerted effort to ensure better welfare packages for the personnel. That has consistently been his priority.
“The deductions were carried out exclusively by IPPIS to recover all funds overpaid by them to some staff in December due to system error.
“Now, IPPIS has deducted the over-payment in full and returned same to government coffers in January,” he said.
However, the IPPIS has reportedly deleted all records of December 2019 salaries from their mobile app in what appears like an attempt to conceal the fraud.
“For the records, IPPIS has pulled down all records of December 2019 salaries from their mobile app”, the whistle-blower told SIGNAL.
“December 2019 was the first time we experienced this and January 2020 payment has yet to reflect on their app. I think this is so because the figures for both months cannot be defended”, the officer added.
SIGNAL contacted the IPPIS Secretariat in an email, seeking clarifications. They were yet to respond at the time of filing this report.
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