Federal Government workers on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System(IPPIS) may not receive their salaries this month due to the fire outbreak at the office of the Accountant General of the Federation on Wednesday.
THE WHISTLER was reliably informed that the fire affected the IPPIS secretariat which is a department under the office of the AGF responsible for payment of salaries and wages directly to government employees’ bank accounts.
The Minister of State for the Ministry of Finance, Clem Ogba, confirmed to journalists at a briefing at the Treasury House Wednesday afternoon that the fire affected an office at the third floor of the house.
He had said the office affected was the ‘Capital’ department. The department, also called ‘Funds’ by the staff, is responsible for all fund transfers to Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the federal government.
But some employees of the Treasury house and a senior officer at the office of the Head of Service of the Federation, Folashade Esan, who spoke off-the-record, told this website that the IPPS secretariat was affected by the fire.
“There may not be salaries for all public servants on IPPIS including military and paramilitary personnel who just came onto the IPPIS platform,” a top civil servant at the Treasury house said.
But Ogba, while answering reporters’ questions said no records were destroyed in the fire.
He also stated that operations at the treasury house had been automated and all records had back-ups.
“All our records are intact. And even if any record was destroyed we have back up for all our records,” he stressed.
But the minister had also said that the fire outbreak would be investigated by experts to determine whether it was induced by anyone or whether it was as a result of electric spark as he was made to believe.
A senior officer at the office of the HoS who did not want his name mentioned also corroborated claims of the minister.
“There’s supposed to a backup in Gombe. Now is the time we’ll know if the hundreds of millions incurred on the backup actually work,” he stated.
Ahmed Idris, the AGF, did not pick his call when THE WHISTLER called him. He also did not reply the text message sent to his phone.