By Victor AhiumaYoung, Abuja

Following the intervention of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, ASCSN, the Federal Government through the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, OHCSF, has begun the verification of 17,000 civil servants that were recently delisted from the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, IPPIS, portal.

The verification exercise which began Monday 16th October 2023, at the Public Service Institute in Abuja, would end Friday 27th October 2023.

In a statement, ASCSN’s President, Dr Tommy Okon, directed pregnant women and nursing mothers to go to the office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation in Abuja from today, October 18, 2023, for their verification.

He implored civil servants undergoing physical verification exercise to conduct themselves maturely so that the exercise could be conducted in an orderly manner and pleaded with officers from the OHCSF supervising the exercise to be circumspect and patient with the workers so that the exercise could be done seamlessly.

The ASCSN President recalled that “following the Union’s intervention, the OHCSF agreed to reopen the IPPIS portal so that the over 17,000 Civil Servants delisted can do the necessary online documentation and physical verification in respect of their employment status.

He commended the Government for yielding to the Union’s demand to reopen the IPPIS Portal so that the over 17,000 Civil Servants delisted can be reabsorbed

“As I speak right now, delisted officers are undergoing physical verification at the Public Service Institute of Nigeria in Abuja.

“The exercise started yesterday Monday 16th October 2023 and will go on till Friday 27th October, 2023.

“Pregnant women and nursing mothers with babies should go to the office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation in Abuja beginning from tomorrow 18th October, 2023 to do their own verification.

“I urge pregnant women and nursing mothers to comply with this directive because it is intended to show compassion for this category of workers undergoing the exercise.

“I equally plead with our teeming members undergoing the Verification exercise to conduct themselves maturely despite the pressure they are passing through,” he said.

He added that the OHCSF might consider decongesting the crowd at the Public Service Institute further by identifying two or three Ministries that could undergo the exercise in a day to mitigate the tension and rowdiness at the venue.