• Union alleges fake bank account inserted into payroll system to divert October 2022, January 2023 deductions
Michael Olugbode in Abuja
Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over alleged manipulation of the federal government’s Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) to divert statutory deductions belonging to its members.
The union alleged that a former staff member of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr. Bola Audu, working in concert with others, compromised its banking information on the government payroll platform and substituted the association’s legitimate account with a fraudulent account.
ASCSN said the alleged manipulation resulted in check-off dues deducted from the salaries of its members in October 2022 and January 2023 being remitted into the substituted account rather than the association’s official account.
The union described the development as a serious breach of trust and abuse of the government payroll system, insisting that check-off dues deducted from workers’ salaries are not personal funds but monies belonging to the association and governed by its constitution.
ASCSN said it was currently reconciling records from IPPIS and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation to establish the precise amount diverted.
The association, one of Nigeria’s major public-sector trade unions, has membership across federal ministries, departments, and agencies.
Its check-off dues are deducted monthly from members’ salaries through the government payroll system and subsequently remitted to the union.
The union said its constitution, particularly Rule 34(IV), provided for the allocation of the dues among the various organs of the association to support its operations and services to members.
ASCSN alleged that the suspected diversion was carried out through a method designed to conceal the change in banking details.
It claimed that the deduction descriptions continued to bear the association’s name within the payroll process, but the bank details were allegedly switched to the fraudulent account at the point of remittance.
The union said the alleged scheme required investigation, not only into the beneficiary account, but also into how its banking information was altered within the government payroll system.
ASCSN further linked the allegations to an ongoing dispute involving Audu and the association, citing recent judgements of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, which it said resulted in the removal of Audu and his associates from the union’s Lagos secretariat.
The association also maintained that the court proceedings did not confer on Audu the position of its National President.
The union accused Audu and his associates of diverting its common funds and questioned how the constitutional rebates due to the various organs of the association were accounted for.
“That was how Audu diverted and looted our common patrimony,” the association alleged.
ASCSN consequently called on EFCC, ICPC and the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation to investigate the alleged manipulation of its payroll records, identify all persons involved, and establish the full amount of money transferred into the suspected sham account.
It is also demanding the recovery and remittance of all funds found to have been diverted into its official account, as well as appropriate sanctions against anyone found culpable.
The union said it was prepared to provide investigators with relevant payroll, banking and other documentary evidence required to establish what happened to the deductions.
The allegations, if established, could raise wider concerns about controls around government payroll systems and the protection of statutory deductions from public-sector workers, particularly where changes to beneficiaries’ banking information are concerned.
ASCSN said it remained committed to transparency, accountability, and the protection of its members’ financial interests.
Efforts to obtain Audu’s response to the allegations were unsuccessful as of press time.