By Okon Okon
The Federal Government on Monday unveiled the harmonised Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) Human Resource (HR) Modules, to strengthen institutional capacity, improve performance, and promote accountability.
Mrs Didi Walson-Jack, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, said while unveiling the first phase of the platform in Abuja, that the full suite supports the entire workforce lifecycle.
Walson-Jack said that the unveiling of the platform marks a significant milestone in the journey towards building a modern, efficient, and technology-driven federal civil service.
“This initiative aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, which prioritises institutional strengthening, public sector efficiency, digital transformation, and improved service delivery.
“The Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) has therefore continued to pursue reforms that strengthen institutional capacity, improve performance, and promote accountability.
“The IPPIS human resource modules are an important part of this reform agenda, addressing the fragmentation, inconsistencies, and operational challenges in human resource management across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs),” she said.
She said that the suit was developed by Soft Alliance, a private sector partner, in collaboration with the OHCSF and Office of the Accountant General of the Federation.
She said that the full suite covers biometric enrolment and onboarding, establishment management, core human resource processes, payroll administration, employee mobility, employee self-service, reporting and data analytics.
She particularly stressed that the employee mobility feature has put an end to employees’ lobbying for juicy posting.
“Integrating these functions on a single platform, which currently serves 508 ministries, extra-ministerial departments, and agencies, will eliminate duplication, improve personnel records, improve personnel records, and reduce errors and delays.
“Automated approvals, standardised workflows, and reliable audit trails will strengthen internal controls, enhance oversight, and enable transactions to be tracked effectively.
“Reliable data is essential for sound decision-making and government cannot effectively plan its workforce, deploy skills, manage succession, or allocate resources without accurate and timely information.
“The platform will provide real-time data for evidence-based workforce planning and policy implementation,” she said.
In his remarks, Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission, Prof. Tunji Olaopa, said that the IPPIS has unarguably modernised personnel records and payroll information system in the federal civil service.
Olaopa described it as one of “the most successful reforms” initiated by the federal government since 2003.
“The success is not just in terms of the quantum of ghost workers that its biometric feature keeps eliminating. It has also pulled all workforce information that was in silos into a centralised database,” he said.
Also, the Accountant General of the Federation, Dr Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, said the implementation of the IPPIS commenced in 2007 with just seven pilot MDAs.
“Today, we have 508 MDAs on-boarded with 1,108,800 employees’ records.
“Today’s event marks another significant milestone in our collective journey towards building a modern, efficient, transparent, and citizen-centred federal public service.
“The introduction of human resource modules represents a natural progression of this reform journey, moving from payroll administration to comprehensive digital human capital development,” he said.
Earlier, the Managing Director of Soft Alliance, Dr Bisi Aina, described the full suite as a comprehensive, end-to-end digital platform that strengthens governance, enhances accountability, and improves workforce management across MDAs.
“As the Managing Director of Soft Alliance, I am particularly proud that this transformation is being driven by an indigenous technology company.
“It is demonstrated that Nigeria’s innovation, expertise, and talent can deliver world-class enterprise solutions that meet the highest standard, while addressing our unique national needs,” Aina said.
He said that for the government, the modules provide greater visibility into workforce demographics, staff distribution, establishment position, and personal movement across MDAs, strengthening evidence-based policy formulation, manpower planning, succession planning, workforce optimisation, and strategic decision-making.
“For administrators, the solution significantly improves operational efficiency by automating routine HR processes, standardising workflows, reducing paper works, minimising processing delays, and ensuring consistency across government institutions.
“For civil servants, modern self-service capability provides greater convenience, transparency, and accessibility.
“Officers are equally empowered to securely access their employment information, submit requests electronically, monitor approvals, and obtain HR services with improved speed and efficiency,” he said.
Similarly, the Product Manager, Soft Alliance, Mr Abiodun Olushola, said that all data from the old existing system has been migrated to the new harmonised solution.
Olushola said that the second phase of the harmonisation would include the recruitment module, the learning management module and continuous improvement and processes module. (NAN)
Edited by Philip Yatai