FG to Halt Salaries of Unverified Civil Servants as PASGA Audit Enters Enforcement Stage

The Federal Government has moved to the enforcement phase of its federal payroll clean-up, directing that civil servants who fail to complete verification and skills assessment requirements under the Personnel Audit and Skills Gap Analysis (PASGA) programme will have salaries suspended from March 2026.

The decision follows a reform process launched in 2025 under President Bola Tinubu’s civil service agenda. Officials say the purpose is to remove irregular payroll entries, stop payments to ghost workers and align workforce records with actual staffing and skill needs across ministries, departments and agencies.

In a directive signed by Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Esther Walson-Jack, and addressed to Federal Civil Service Commission Chairman, Tunji Olaopa, government gave affected officers a final window to regularise records. The mop-up exercise covered physical verification and online assessment and was scheduled for February 16 to February 27, 2026, at designated venues in Abuja.

At policy level, the government is framing PASGA as both a payroll integrity intervention and a workforce planning tool. By combining identity and role verification with competency checks, officials aim to ensure that people drawing salaries are properly engaged, correctly placed and fit for assigned duties.

Payroll experts describe audits as structured reviews of salary systems, deduction records, tax compliance and employee data to test whether compensation is accurate and lawful. In public administration, the same process is also used to detect leakages that silently weaken service delivery over time.

Common risks identified through payroll audits include overpayments, underpayments, duplicate entries, role misclassification, unsupported allowances and manipulation of overtime claims. Where controls are weak, such issues can persist for years and inflate personnel costs without improving government output.

The Nigerian reform effort seeks to close those gaps by tying payroll eligibility to verified records. Under the current directive, non-compliant officers risk immediate salary stoppage, and further sanctions may follow under the Public Service Rules, including termination where required processes are ignored.

Officials argue that this compliance pressure is necessary to shift civil service culture toward documented accountability. In practical terms, the expectation is that accurate payroll data will reduce fiscal waste, improve budget credibility and free resources for priority programmes.

Another expected outcome is better workforce deployment. Skills assessments linked to personnel records can help government identify capability shortages, design targeted training and match staff to functions where competence gaps are currently hurting performance.

Labour and governance analysts say implementation quality will determine whether PASGA delivers lasting value. They note that verification exercises can fail when appeals systems are weak, grievance channels are slow or digital records are not updated quickly after officers submit corrections.

To maintain confidence, experts recommend clear communication, auditable timelines, and transparent dispute resolution for workers who claim wrongful flagging. They also call for periodic publication of aggregate outcomes, including number of records regularised, number of payroll removals and savings recovered, while protecting personal data.

Government’s broader message is that payroll reform is now a standing governance priority, not a one-off administrative campaign. The enforcement step signals a stricter link between compliance and entitlement in federal employment.

If sustained, PASGA could become a reference point for wider public sector reforms that combine financial controls with human capital management. For now, ministries and officers face an immediate operational reality: complete verification requirements, align records with current duties, and meet assessment obligations or lose salary access under the March 2026 enforcement deadline.