It’s been ten months since they were recruited, but officers of the Nigeria Immigration Service are still waiting to receive their outstanding salary payments.
Despite being added to the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, some personnel who got their appointment letters on August 15, 2023, did not receive paychecks between September 2023 and February 2024.
The affected personnel sought the Minister of Interior’s intervention, stating that although they started receiving salaries in March 2024, their salary arrears from previous months remained unpaid.
Speaking on condition of anonymity because service officers are not allowed to talk to journalists, one of the NIS personnel at the Lagos Command said, “We resumed induction training in Abuja from September to December 2023.
“Our appointment letters were dated August 15, 2023, but the service started paying salary from March 2024, leaving September, October, November and December 2023, January and February 2024 salaries behind. They have refused to pay us salary arrears for seven months.
Findings revealed that personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, who collected their appointment letters at the same time with the NIS officers, were paid their September, October, November and December salaries in 2023.
However, Mr. Kenneth Udo, the Public Relations Officer of the NIS, said the non-payment of the salary arrears was an omission from the IPPIS.
Udo said, “All Federal Government employees are on the IPPIS; that is where the issue is. There were some omissions, but the service is following up. The service met with the director of IPPIS last week; we are aware of the problem, but we are not responsible for the omission.
“We will surely rectify it; hopefully by the end of this month, the affected officers will receive their money. It is going to be rectified; we are on top of it.”
