Abuja Federal Workers Stranded After IPPIS Payroll Verification Deadline

Abuja Civil Servants Hit Hard by IPPIS Payroll Verification Crisis

The mood in Abuja is tense and anxious. After the February 17, 2025, cutoff for identity verification on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), hundreds of federal employees have been left scrambling—not for paperwork, but for rent, bus fare, even meals. With salaries frozen, many are scraping by or stranded far from home, their government jobs now uncertain.

This all started when the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) decided it was time to finally grt rid of 'ghost workers'—people being paid without actually coming to work. In a bold move, the OAGF set a strict deadline: all civil servants had to complete new identity checks or face salary suspension. The rules were clear enough: upload Tax Identification Number, IPPIS number, and salary account details. Miss the deadline, and your pay stops instantly.

What nobody expected was just how messy the process would get. Many workers traveled long distances, leaving their families behind and heading to Abuja for what should have been a routine exercise. Instead, they found themselves battling an online portal that wouldn’t cooperate. Workers hit submit, only to get endless loading wheels or error messages. By the time the portal stabilized, the deadline had already closed.

A finance official in one Ministry, who asked not to be named, admitted that the technical hiccups were worse than anyone anticipated. "People were trying all night. We had staff sleeping in the office, hoping the system would finally work. Now they can’t even pay for food or get back home." Some workplaces have become makeshift shelters for stranded colleagues who ran out of luck—and cash. Others are relying on colleagues for handouts or turning to charity kitchens. The payroll freeze didn’t just mean inconvenience. For some, it means no way to support families or pay off loans. Morale is at an all-time low.

Ghost Worker Crackdown Leaves Many in Limbo

The crackdown isn’t accidental. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu demanded stronger controls in June 2024 after it emerged that several civil servants had moved abroad yet kept getting paid. Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, the then Head of Civil Service, revealed that "remote working" had become an excuse for disappearing from the country altogether. Tinubu wanted an end to it, and the OAGF responded with a no-nonsense approach: verify, or you’re out.

After the February 10 deadline proved impossible to meet for many, authorities gave workers a week’s extension. But even then, the technical bugs were not ironed out. Affected staff across Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) say they begged for another chance. The answer, so far, has been silence. No hint of the portal reopening, no alternative process for those with proven difficulties. Many believe a fair solution would mean reopening verification for at least those proven to have attempted compliance but failed due to system problems.

The OAGF’s memo shows no sign of wiggle room. Accounting officers, finance directors, and audit units in every MDA received strict orders: no verification, no pay. Months later, as August 2025 slips by, there’s still no salary restoration on the horizon for these employees.

People who dedicated years to public service now find themselves unable to foot basic bills. Some are surviving on loans. Others are simply stuck—sitting in offices, waiting for a solution that isn’t coming. The situation has many rethinking how government reforms should roll out when technology is unreliable, and ordinary workers pay the heaviest price.