Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
The Federal Government has ordered a service-wide verification of federal civil servants recruited between 2013 and 2020.
This comes about six years after a whistleblower in the Ministry of Works, Mr. Martins Atijegbe, raised the alarm over an alleged fraudulent employment racket involving forged appointment letters and the unlawful inclusion of unqualified persons on the federal payroll through the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS).
Atijegbe claimed that after raising the alarm, he was rendered redundant, denied promotions, and barred from sitting for promotion exams for three consecutive years.
According to a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Civil Service Commission, Ndiomu Ebiogeh Philip, the revalidation exercise will commence on Monday, August 18, and end on Thursday, August 28, 2025.
Affected workers have been directed to bring the following documents—both original and photocopies: letter of offer of temporary appointment, letter of regularisation/permanent appointment, letter of last promotion, letter of staff changes, gazette of appointment and confirmation, and the last IPPIS payslip (July 2025).
The statement, made available to Ikengaonline, read: “The Federal Civil Service Commission has concluded arrangements to conduct a re-verification exercise for all those who failed to appear during the 2021 verification exercise for officers recruited by the Commission from 2013 to 2020.
Consequently, all concerned officers are to check for their names on the Commission’s website (www.fedcivilservice.gov.ng), the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation’s website (www.ohcsf.gov.ng), and the notice boards of their Ministries.
In addition, all affected officers are to take note of the following important details:
- Each officer is to come along with the original and photocopy of the documents specified in the attached list (Appendix III).
- Adhere strictly to the dates on the attached schedule (Appendix II).
- Check the attached list sent to the Ministries (Appendix I) for their names. Officers who have been posted out of the Ministry, are on secondment/transfer out of the Ministry, or on study leave are also to check the websites provided above.
- No further extension will be granted to any officer who fails to turn up for the exercise. Any officer who fails to appear will be deemed to be holding a fake letter of appointment and is therefore deliberately avoiding detection.
- Those who have recently been to the Commission for the exercise need not appear again.
- Kindly treat the content of this letter as important.”
Reps probe alleged fraud, whistleblower’s victimisation
The House of Representatives’ Committee on Public Petitions had earlier summoned the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Works over allegations of fraud, abuse of office, and the victimisation of whistleblower Martins Atijegbe, a staff of the Ministry.
The committee, chaired by Michael Irom, is acting on Petition No. 626 of 2025 filed by Liberty Semper Fidelis LP, a law firm representing Atijegbe, who works in the Ministry’s Department of Resource Management.
Atijegbe alleged persistent persecution since he exposed the fraud in the Ministry.
“I discovered that we were documenting newly recruited staff who came in with fake letters of appointment. I raised the issue with my Unit Head at the time, Mrs. Osebe Franklin, but that was only the beginning of my persecution.
“The letter that brought them from the Civil Service Commission was irregular—the signature, indentation, typing format, and general arrangement were questionable. Some were not properly arranged.
“Because of this, I’ve been stagnated. By now, I should be a Principal Executive Officer, but I’m still a Senior Executive Officer. They have denied me the privilege of sitting for my promotion exam twice in a row. This is now the third year,” he lamented.
The Ministry of Works has yet to formally respond to the latest development. However, the Special Assistant on Media to the Minister of Works, Uchenna Orji, described the allegations as “ridiculous by all indications.”
In a letter dated May 23, 2025, the House Committee on Public Petitions directed the Permanent Secretary to submit one soft copy and 10 hard copies of the Ministry’s response, and to appear in person on June 18, 2025, at 2:00 p.m., in Room 429 (New Wing), National Assembly, Abuja.
The Permanent Secretary failed to appear, marking his third absence before the committee.
However, the intervention of the House appears to have prompted the Federal Government, through the Federal Civil Service Commission, to embark on the verification exercise.
