From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Federal Government said it had saved about N10 trillion since the introduction of Single Treasury Account (TSA).
Director-General, Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), Dr. Dasuki Arabi, stated this at the 43rd session of the ministerial media briefing organised by the Presidential Media Team in Abuja, yesterday.
Arabi, at the briefing gave key updates on the performance of the Bureau in the execution of its mandate, particularly in ensuring the full implementation of reform policies and programmes for government.
He said the introduction of Integration Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) led to the reduction of the Federal Civil Service personnel to 720,000 after uncovering 70,000 ghost workers.
Speaking with video slides, Arabi said: “We have a one shot opportunity to look at IPPIS and say, as at today, we have 720,000 public servants working for Nigeria. This is a great achievement which I think we need to encode and we need to get it celebrated by all of us. We’ve been able to reduce more than N220 billion wastage through wrong management of IPPIS on payroll by ministries, departments and agencies of government. We have reduced the budget deficits and change the budget composition.
“We have succeeded in getting the Treasury Single Account deployed in all ministries, departments and agencies of government. Challenges have come in that implementation at the initial stage, but we are overcoming that and government is able to save over N10 trillion over the years because whatever you’re generating now goes into a Treasury Single Account that is managed by somebody else, not you.
“And government, especially at the top is always able to see what has come into our Treasury Single Account today and what has gone out of that. So planning has been simplified. Budgeting has been simplified. Our distribution and allocation of resources have been simplified and streamlined.”
The DG said as part of the reforms in the service, Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIGMIS) had made government business paperless and “it has reduced man to man contact and processing, payments in ministries, departments and agencies of government.”
He also said government is silently implementing aspects of the Steve Oransanye Report on Civil Service Reforms. He said government would soon make an announcement on the implementation of the White Paper.
Meanwhile, President Buhari has said government’s dwindling fortunes has increased his interest in the reforms of the federal civil service.
Buhari who was represented by the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Mohammed Bello, said this at the inauguration of Cultural Change Video and Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan (FCSSIP) 25 Documents and Award Ceremony in Abuja.
The event was organised by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HoCSF), as part of activities marking the 2022 Civil Service Week, with the theme – Performance Management System (PMS): Impact on Productivity’
“I have had a rare privilege of working with the Nigerian Civil Service, at the closest and innermost quarters for the large part of my sojourn in public service and has witnessed a formidable and strong public service, which we began to see gradually lose its relevance in the country.”
He said the gradual decline propelled him to provide all the necessary support to the HoCSF in under-taking innovative and far-reaching reforms that is gradually showing signs of bearing the desired fruits.
Buhari said government would be delighted to have a civil service desirous of improving its ability to drive national development through the recommendation of appropriate policies that would enhance the implementation of government programmes.
He commended the present crop of civil servants who have fared well in driving the implementation of government programmes as the engine room of government activities.
He assured that his administration would spare no effort at improving the competencies of officers in the service through training and re-training of staff by the system.
He said he has set up a Presidential Committee on Salaries to harmonise salaries service-wide as part of measures at improving the value proposition of the civil service.
The Head of Service of the Federation, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, said 6,000 workers without employment letters have been uncovered at the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture and the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment.
She said 5,000 of the ghost workers uncovered were at the Ministry of Information, while the Director of Human Resources at the Ministry of Labour was handed over to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) after 1,000 fake workers were uncovered at the ministry.
She said many of the fake workers were detected from the payroll through the human components of the IPPIS, which was started few years ago and designed to verify credentials such as a person’s letters of appointment, academic certificates, age declaration at entry and birth certificate.