Civil Servants Living Abroad And Collecting Salaries To Refund It, Says FG

From Abdul SULE (Abuja)

Federal government has stated that all federal civil servants who relocated abroad and are still drawing salaries are to face severe punishment, including refund of all monies paid to them.

Speaking at the 2024 Civil Service Award and Gala Night, the climax of the week-long 2024 Civil Service Week, held at the Abuja Continental Hotelaward night organised by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HOCSF), on Saturday, President Bola Tinubu said it is no longer acceptable for a civil servant to relocate abroad and then draw salary in Abuja for work not done.

The President, therefore,
directed supervisors and department heads of the culprits are also to face punishment for aiding and abetting the fraud while they were in charge

He said: “The culprits must be made to refund the money they have fraudulently collected. Their supervisors and department heads must also be punished for aiding and abetting the fraud under their watch. 

"The civil service cannot just be a workplace where ‘anything is possible, ‘where workers violate rules without the fear of punishment or repercussions.

“The civil service of any nation is too important for such misconduct to take root or be tolerated.

“The civil service is the bedrock, the engine, the locomotive of government, which is necessary for the government to deliver public goods to citizens. As politicians, we are no more than drivers of the locomotives that you provide,” he added

The Head Of Service of the federation, (HoSF), read the President's directive and cautioned workers to be more diligent and committed to serving the nation for national development.

During the media parley to mark the 2024 civil service week, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, (HoSF) Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, CFR, has  shared the revelation regarding employees who had relocated abroad while drawing salaries without formally resigning.

She, however, said that measures have been taken to address this issue.