BREAKING: Tinubu Govt Orders Fresh Verification Of Civil Servants Hired Between 2013 And 2020 Amid Job-For-Sale, Racketeering Scandal

President Bola Tinubu’s administration has ordered a fresh verification exercise targeting thousands of workers recruited into the Federal Civil Service between 2013 and 2020, in a move linked to widespread allegations of job racketeering and the sale of employment slots to desperate applicants.

The directive, contained in an August 4, 2025 circular signed by Ndiomu Ebiogeh Philip, Permanent Secretary at the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC), warned that any civil servant who fails to appear for the exercise will be presumed to possess a fake appointment letter and face immediate removal.

According to the document, the re-verification is specifically for workers who failed to participate in the 2021 verification exercise. The Commission noted that “no further extension will be granted” and accused some officers of “deliberately staying away to avoid detection.”

SaharaReporters has in recent months reported how a petition before the House of Representatives by a whistleblower, Martins Oghenerhoro Richard Atijegbe, alleged that top officials in the Ministry of Works have been selling federal jobs to desperate Nigerians for as much as N2.5 million.

Martins, a staff member in the ministry’s Human Resource Management Department, exposed how unqualified individuals were smuggled into the civil service using forged employment letters and were enrolled into the federal payroll system, IPPIS, within weeks.

“My petition to both chambers of the National Assembly has to do with employment racketeering involving the Minister of Works,” Martins said in a statement made available to SaharaReporters.

According to him, directors in the ministry were the masterminds behind the operation, exploiting their access to sell federal jobs and bypass proper recruitment procedures.

“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 stated.

He revealed that his attempt to expose the rot has turned him into a target for persecution.

“I discovered it and made it public, and I am being persecuted for doing so. I am on the verge of losing my job,” he lamented.

The petition, filed by his lawyer, Liberty Semper Fidelis, accuses the Federal Ministry of Works of fraud, abuse of power, conspiracy, and attempts to cover up, among other offences.

The Ministry has consistently denied any wrongdoing, describing the allegations as “incredibly fictitious.”

Giving SaharaReporters an update about the case on Monday, the whistleblower said: “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.”

A copy of the circular obtained by SaharaReporters directed affected officers to check their names on the FCSC website, the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation’s website, and notice boards of their ministries.

They are required to present original and photocopies of several key documents, including their letters of appointment, regularisation, promotion, gazette confirmation, and July 2025 IPPIS payslip.

The re-verification will run from Monday, August 18 to Thursday, August 28, 2025, covering various ministries and government agencies, including the Federal Ministries of Agriculture, Defence, Education, Justice, Works, Information, Science and Technology, Aviation, Finance, Interior, and the State House.

The circular reads: The Federal Civil Service Commission has concluded arrangements to conduct a re-verification exercise for all those who failed to appear during the 2021 verification exercise for officers recruited by the Commission from 2013 to 2020.

“Consequently, all concerned officers are to check for their names on the Commission's website (www.fedcivilservice.gov.ng), Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation's website (www.ohcsf.gov.ng) and the notice boards of your Ministry.

“In addition, all affected officers are to take note of the following important details: Each officer is to come along with the original and photocopy of the documents specified in the attached list; adhere strictly to the dates on the attached schedule; check the attached list sent to the Ministries for their names; officers who have been posted out of the Ministry, are on Secondment/Transfer out of the Ministry, or on Study leave, are to equally check the websites provided above; no further extension will be granted any officer who fails to turn up for the exercise; any officer who fails to turn up for the exercise will be adjudged to be holding fake letter of appointment and is, therefore, deliberately staying away to avoid detection; those who have been to the Commission recently for the exercise, need not appear.”