The Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) has been described as one of the key reform initiatives of the Federal Government aimed at providing a platform for payment of personnel emoluments in addition to maintaining a database for information and actions on the government workforce.
It is this position that underscores the resolve by the Federal Government to evolve permanent solutions to hitches that may be observed in the operations of the policy, explaining the reason for a training workshop organised by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation for IPPIS Role Players in Federal Government agencies and institutions throughout the country.
Speaking on Monday at the opening ceremonies of a training workshop for Role Players in the South-West geopolitical zone holding in Lagos, the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Mr. Ahmed Idris said the training is meant to keep IPPIS Role Players abreast with the operations of the policy to enhance their capacity to take full ownership of their respective payrolls and efficiently discharge their responsibilities in the centralized platform.
Represented by Mr. Salawu Zubairu, Director, Coordinated Accounts, Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Idris said in introducing the IPPIS into the country’s public service, the government sought to entrench transparency and accountability in the management of the payroll system.
According to him, “Prior to the introduction of the IPPIS, the manual payroll system that was in operation made it impossible to determine the number of personnel in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) that were paid salaries due to non-availability of necessary data. 
“Suffice it to state here that since the inception of the IPPIS, there has been a significant level of transparency in the administration of government payroll. The policy has aided efficient management of personnel records, timely payment of salaries and wages, accurate deduction of taxes and other third-party dues, as well as smooth remittance of payroll deductions to third parties. Furthermore, the policy has brought greater efficiency to the planning of personnel emoluments and budget.”
Idris noted that encouraged by the positive impact the IPPIS brought to the administration of the payroll system, the Federal Government mandated that personnel in all government agencies and institutions that draw salaries from the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) be moved to the IPPIS platform.
“This task, saddled on the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, has indeed been energy-sapping due to the peculiarities of some government agencies and institutions. However, the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation has recorded tremendous success as many government personnel have been moved to the IPPIS platform.
While assuring that the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation will not rest on this mandate until all government employees are migrated into the IPPIS platform, Idris expressed appreciation to all public and private agencies and individuals that have contributed overtly or covertly to the successes so far recorded in the implementation of the IPPIS and indeed all other financial management reform initiatives of the government.
“It is apt to reiterate that the government will continually seek fresh ideas, adopt new strategies and implement requisite plans to seal all leakages in order to sustain a flawless payroll and personnel management system and enhance the gains of the various financial management reform initiatives for the benefit of all Nigerians,” the Accountant-General said.
Idris urged participants at the training to give it the necessary attention and make good use of the information on the operations of the policy. “You must see this training as a call to national service. Your ability to honestly and correctly apply the ideas gained at this training becomes your own contribution to nation-building,” he charged.
He stated that at present, Nigeria needs men and women with a high level of integrity, dexterity, honesty, diligence and sense of purpose to help reposition the country for the better, adding that as Role Players, they are an important part of the complex machinery that is meant to ensure the success of the IPPIS policy.
“Your schedule is a trust and you are expected to be above board. You should be agents of positive change and appreciable progress,” Idris charged.
The IPPIS special training workshop organised by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation for IPPIS Role Players in Federal Government agencies and institutions throughout the country commenced three weeks ago and has been successfully held in four geopolitical zones of North-West, North-East, South-East and South-South.
This week’s training will hold simultaneously in the North-Central and in the South-West.