ABUJA – The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) said on Monday it has strengthened controls on the admission of newly recruited workers into the federal payroll.

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‎The OAGF said it has started re-engineering payroll processes under the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) to improve accountability, transparency and efficiency.

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‎Under the new arrangement, ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) will take greater responsibility for managing their personnel budgets and nominal rolls.

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‎The office said a stricter validation process has been introduced for enrolling new recruits. No newly recruited employee will be admitted into the payroll without first being captured on the nominal roll of the relevant MDA and meeting all validation requirements.

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‎It said MDAs must formally submit requests to the OAGF with recruitment approvals, appointment letters, waivers and other supporting documents.

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‎The documents, along with salary structures, grade levels, steps and allowances, will be verified.

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‎The checks will also cover Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) details, pension identification numbers, National Housing Fund (NHF) registration and tax records to ensure accurate deductions and remittances.

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‎After initial validation by the OAGF, records will be sent to the MDA for confirmation by the accounting officer, director of human resources, director of finance and accounts, and payroll validating officer, before being returned to the OAGF for final processing.

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‎Final admission will be subject to completion of all checks and approval by the Accountant-General of the Federation.

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‎The OAGF directed permanent secretaries, heads of agencies and other relevant officers to comply strictly, adding that records with incomplete documentation will be deferred and officers responsible will be held accountable for any breach.

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‎The directive takes immediate effect and applies to all ongoing and new payroll admissions, the statement signed by Director of Press and Public Relations Bawa Mokwa said.