The Federal Government has ordered a fresh verification exercise targeting thousands of workers recruited into the Federal Civil Service between 2013 and 2020, following allegations of job racketeering and the sale of employment slots to desperate Nigerians.
The directive, issued in an August 4, 2025 circular signed by Ndiomu Ebiogeh Philip, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC), warns that any civil servant who fails to appear for the exercise will be deemed to possess a fake appointment letter and face immediate removal from service.
According to the circular, the re-verification is strictly for officers who failed to participate in the 2021 verification exercise. The Commission accused some workers of “deliberately staying away to avoid detection” and stressed that “no further extension will be granted.”
The move comes amid an ongoing investigation into employment racketeering in the Federal Ministry of Works, exposed by whistleblower Martins Oghenerhoro Richard Atijegbe. Martins, a staff member in the ministry’s Human Resource Management Department, petitioned the National Assembly, alleging that top officials sold jobs for as much as N2.5 million, issued fake appointment letters, and enrolled beneficiaries into the federal payroll system, IPPIS, within weeks.
“The directors would collect the sum of N2.5 million from people, sell a job to them, and within a month, they would issue fake documents and enrol them into IPPIS,” Martins said, adding that his revelations have made him a target of persecution.
The petition, filed through his lawyer, Liberty Semper Fidelis, accuses the Ministry of Works of fraud, abuse of power, conspiracy, and attempts at cover-up. The ministry has, however, dismissed the allegations as “incredibly fictitious.”
Providing an update, Martins told SaharaReporters: “Due to my petition, the Federal Civil Service Commission is verifying all appointment letters made from 2013 to 2020, to ascertain the level of fake letters in the system.”
The circular directs affected officers to check their names on the FCSC website, the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation’s website, and on their ministry’s notice boards. Officers are required to present originals and photocopies of their appointment, regularisation, promotion, and gazette confirmation letters, along with their July 2025 IPPIS payslip.
The exercise will run from Monday, August 18, to Thursday, August 28, 2025, and will cover ministries and agencies including Agriculture, Defence, Education, Justice, Works, Information, Science and Technology, Aviation, Finance, Interior, and the State House.
The FCSC warned that any officer who fails to appear will be “adjudged to be holding fake letter of appointment” and removed from service.
