No going back on IPPIS despite opposition, says NSA

The Federal Government will not rescind its decision on the use of Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) despite opposition in some quarters, the National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno (retd), has said.

Monguno said the adoption of the payment system by the FG had led to the discovery of 54,000 payroll frauds.

The NSA stated this at the headquarters of Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) Abuja on Friday during the National Policy Dialogue on corruption and insecurity in Nigeria organised by the research and training arm of the commission.

Public university lecturers under the auspices of the Academic Staff Union of Universities currently on strike running into seven months have kicked against the IPPIS and insisted on the FG changing to a payment system designed by the lecturers, the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS).

But Monguno maintained that the the FG had no intention to discard the IPPIS, stressing that the anti-corruption war of President Muhammadu Buhari-led government was firm in its resolve to wipe out corruption in both public and private sectors.

He said, “The anti-corruption stance of the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is firmly anchored on his fore-mentioned assertion and it is vigorously being pursued across all spheres of governance including the private sector with appreciable outcomes.

“For instance, the dogged implementation of the Treasure Single Account (TSA) has resulted in the consolidation of more than 17,000 bank accounts previously spread across deposit money banks in the country, leading to monthly savings of about N4bn in bank charges.

“Furthermore, the expansion of coverage of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) against stiff opposition from some quarters and deployment of the Bank Verification Number (BVN) to validate federal government payroll on the IPPIS platform has led to the detection of almost 54,000 fraudulent payroll entries.”

President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, who chaired the occasion, spoke on the alarming spate of insecurity, which he noted was scaring away foreign and local investors as well as depriving Nigeria of the benefit of attracting direct investments.

He however lauded the military for flushing and neutralising insurgents and terrorists in states such as Kaduna, Niger and Zamfara.

He said that the National Assembly would continually support the effort of the government to tackle insecurity in Nigeria and had ensured an improvement to annual appropriation for defence and security.

Chairman of the ICPC, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, said Nigeria’s worsening insecurity challenges and the resulting impact on the Nigerian state, her economy and her image, were a cause of grave concern.