FG promises prompt payment of staff salaries

The Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Mr Ahmed Idris, says government is taking proactive steps to make sure that salaries are not delayed again.

Idris said this in an interview with newsmen after the commissioning of a creche donated to the office of the AGF by ECOBANK on Thursday in Abuja.

He expressed regret that most Federal Government workers as at Thursday were yet to receive their salaries for October.

He said the delay was caused by technical fault in the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information Solution (IPPIS) system.

"We are being proactive and we will do whatever it takes to maintain the technology and make sure that this kind of thing does not happen again.

"It is not in our interest that this kind of thing is happening and we bear the responsibility. We are doing all it takes to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.

"We have established a backup for GIFMIS (Government Integrated Financial Management Information System) and this will ensure that we are prepared the next time we experience system failure,’’ he said.

Idris said that whatever technicl fault experienced, it had already been resolved and salaries were now being paid.

"It is not anything that has to do with lack of money. We have resources; we have money but the technology to deploy.

"We now do e-payment so any slight glitch in the technology will impact on payment. And that is what has happened.

"But this has been resolved and alerts have been coming. People have started receiving their salaries,’’ he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the IPPIS facilitates automation and storage of personnel records to support monitoring of staff emolument payments against budget.

It also ensures prompt payment of salaries directly to employees’ accounts with appropriate deductions and remittances of third party payments such as tax, pension, cooperatives, union dues and bank Loans.