FG to enrol 800 MDAs in IPPIS by year end – AGF

The Federal Government of Monday said it plans to enroll 800 Ministries, Departments and Agencies into the Integrated Payroll Personnel and Information System by December 31, 2016.
The Accountant-General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, made the disclosure to the News Agency of Nigeria shortly after the opening of a three-day IPPIS officers’ capacity building workshop in Kaduna on Monday.
“By December 31, all the over 800 MDAs funded by the treasury will be fully enrolled into the IPPIS programme,” he said.
Represented by the Director of IPPIS, Ibrahim Yusuf, the AGF said the training was organised to build the capacity of the role players in various MDAs on IPPIS application.
He added that it was to improve their performance to meet the December target.
NAN gathered that the workshop was also organised by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation in collaboration with a company, Major Academy Limited, Kaduna.
The accountant-general said IPPIS had so far enrolled a total of 402 MDAs, adding that by the end of March 2016, all the paramilitary institutions would have been enrolled into the system.
According to Idris, the programme will enhance staff remuneration and payment with minimal wastages.
He added IPPIS had ascertained actual personnel emoluments of federal employees and centralised the payroll systems which had addressed problem of multiple payment of staff.
He added: “The IPPIS has facilitated easy storage, updating and retrieval of personnel records for administrative and pension matters.
“This training is holding simultaneously in two centres for three consecutive weeks in the six geopolitical zones and it is going to be a continuous one.
“The training is to introduce participants to the basic concepts and tools of IPPIS application and refresh their knowledge of the application.
“It will also sharpen their skills and develop their capacity to the extent that they will be able to effect basic transactions without recourse to IPPIS secretariat.
“The introduction of IPPIS has brought about Biometric data capture of personnel through which ghost workers are eliminated and storage of records in the centralised personnel database.
“IPPIS has enhanced prompt deduction and remittance to pension funds, cooperative societies and other union dues.”
Idris urged participants to make good use of the workshop by acquiring more experience and skill and translate the knowledge gained to improve their performance.
He said with the training, the IPPIS secretariat would no longer entertain mails pertaining to matters that can ordinarily be handled “by you as role players in your agencies”.
Idris, however, said in spite the benefit recorded by the programme, the IPPIS is being faced with challenges due to lack of capacity building.
He said: “Most IPPIS role players cannot successfully carry out basic operations on the IPPIS application and are thus unable to fully optimise the potential benefit.
“The effect is that most of the basic operations that are expected to be executed at the MDAs level are transmitted to the IPPIS secretariat.”
This development, Idris added, had led to time wastage, delayed action, idle time and under-utilisation of resources at the MDAs and congestion at the secretariat.
Meanwhile, Dr. Bashir Ishaku, the Director-General of Major Academy, said the training was organised for the staff to enable them efficiently handle issues of proper staff placements.
Ishaku said it was to put them in proper position to tackle issues pertaining to promotions, retirement and other related matters.
NAN.