The federal government has weeded out 30,000 ghost officers from the payroll of Nigeria Police Force.
Presidency sources revealed that the police payroll had the names of about 370,000 officers as well as rank and file.
However, two weeks ago, when the police was brought on the Integrated Personnel Payroll System IPPIS platform, that number came down to 291,685.
It was described as “very inefficient and corrupt” but that with it haven been brought on the IPPIS platform, those feeding fat from it through corrupt means would no longer be able to manipulate it.
It was learnt that there had been subtle resistance by some corrupt officers who were benefiting from the old system as they tried to stop the police from being brought on the IPPIS.
With the new development, it was that some arbitrary deductions which police officers used to be subjected to had come to an end as each of them would now be credited directly from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
Sources said that although opposition to the IPPIs has continued, President Muhammadu Buhari was determined to implement the policy to its logical conclusion by bringing every federal government staff on the platform.
Work, it was gathered, has already commenced on the military as well as the nation federal universities and other tertiary institutions with a view to bringing then on the IPPIS.
Personnel payroll has been a recognised as an avenue for corruption in government Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and those in the personnel departments collaborate with the Salaries and wages unit to pay non-existing staff members.
It was learnt, however, that based on complaints received from some police officers that they were not captured during the exercise; there could be a review in other to capture all genuine police officers, as has been the case with every other such agencies.
