Major General Babagana Monguno (retd), the National Security Adviser has stated that since the day the federal government adopted the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), it has uncovered at least 54,000 payroll frauds despite stiff opposition from some quarters.
Monguno, who also said the Treasury Single Account (TSA) saves N4bn monthly which would have been looted by corrupt persons, hinted that the present administration won’t rescind its decisions in the use of IPPIS despite opposition from some quarters.
The NSA stated this at the headquarters of Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) Abuja on Friday when he spoke during the National Policy Dialogue on corruption and insecurity in Nigeria organised by the research and training arm of ICPC.
He maintained that the anti-corruption war of President Muhammadu Buhari-led government is still effective and firm in its resolve to wipe out corruption in both public and private sectors.
“The anti-corruption stance of the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is firmly anchored on his fore-mentioned assertion and it is vigorously being pursued across all spheres of governance including the private sector with appreciable outcomes.
“For instance, the dogged implementation of the Treasure Single Account (TSA) has resulted in the consolidation of more than 17,000 bank accounts previously spread across deposit money banks in the country, leading to monthly savings of about N4bn in bank charges.
“Furthermore, the expansion of coverage of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) against stiff opposition from some quarters and deployment of the Bank Verification Number (BVN) to validate federal government payroll on the IPPIS platform has led to the detection of almost 54,000 fraudulent payroll entries.
On his part, President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, who chaired the occasion, said the alarming spate of insecurity scared away foreign and local investors and deprived Nigeria of the benefit of attracting direct investments.
He, however, lauded the military for flushing and neutralising insurgents and terrorists in states like Kaduna, Niger and Zamfara in particular.
.“He said that the National Assembly would continually support the effort of the government to tackle insecurity in Nigeria and had ensured an improvement to annual appropriation for defence and security.
Speaking earlier while making his welcome address, the chairman of the ICPC, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, said Nigeria’s worsening insecurity challenges and the resulting impact on the Nigerian state, her economy and her image, continue to be the cause of grave concern to Nigerians.
Other dignitaries present at the event are Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor among others.
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