President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has declared that civil servants who relocated abroad while drawing salaries without formally resigning must refund the wages they received during the period.
This was disclosed at the 2024 Civil Service Award and Gala Night, the climax of the week-long 2024 Civil Service Week, held at the Abuja Continental Hotel on Saturday.
During the media parley to mark the 2024, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Folasade Yemi-Esan had shared the revelation regarding employees who had relocated abroad, said that measures have been taken to address this issue.
The President who gave the order said, “During my recent visit to South Africa, I kept abreast of the week’s activities and was particularly struck by the revelations shared by the Head of the Civil Service regarding employees who relocated abroad while drawing salaries without formally resigning.
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“It is heartening to hear that measures have been taken to address this issue, but we must ensure those responsible are held accountable and restitution is made.”
He said that the Nigerian Civil Service cannot just be a workplace where ‘anything is possible,’ where workers violate rules without the fear of punishment or repercussion.
He insisted that “we must ensure those responsible are held accountable and restitution is made.
“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 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.”
