President Bola Tinubu’s administration has ordered a fresh verification exercise targeting thousands of workers recruited into the federal civil service between 2013 and 2020, following allegations of job racketeering and sales of employment slots to desperate applicants.
The directive, contained in an August 4 circular signed by Ndiomu Ebiogeh Philip, Permanent Secretary at the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC), warned that any civil servant who fails to appear for the exercise will be presumed to possess a fake appointment letter and face immediate removal.
The re-verification targets workers who failed to participate in the 2021 verification exercise, with the FCSC accusing some officers of “deliberately staying away to avoid detection.”
This move comes months after Sahara Reporters exposed a petition before the House of Representatives by whistleblower Martins Oghenerhoro Richard Atijegbe, a staff member in the Ministry of Works’ Human Resource Management Department.
The petition alleged that top officials in the ministry were selling federal jobs for as much as N2.5 million per slot, enrolling unqualified individuals into the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) using forged documents.
In an exclusive interview, Martins revealed how directors in the ministry masterminded the scheme, exploiting their positions to bypass proper recruitment procedures.
“The directors would collect the sum of N2.5 million from people, sell a job to them, and within a month, they would issue fake documents and enrol them into IPPIS,” Martins stated.
He lamented that his decision to expose the fraud has made him a target: “I discovered it and made it public, and I am being persecuted for doing so. I am on the verge of losing my job.”
His lawyer, Liberty Semper Fidelis, filed a petition accusing the Federal Ministry of Works of fraud, abuse of power, conspiracy, and cover-up attempts.
The ministry has denied the allegations, dismissing them as “incredibly fictitious.”
The circular mandates affected officers to check their names on the FCSC website and present original and photocopies of their appointment letters, regularisation documents, promotion letters, confirmation gazettes, and the July 2025 IPPIS payslip.
The exercise will run from August 18 to August 28, 2025, covering ministries such as agriculture, defence, education, justice, works, information, science and technology, aviation, finance, interior, and the state house.
According to the circular, no further extension will be granted to any officer who fails to turn up for the exercise.
