Business
Civil Servants Face Suspension Over Salary Padding

Some civil servants across several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) have been suspended for alleged salary “padding”.
Some of those suspended are from the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) and an undisclosed institute.
The Tide source learnt that some civil servants connived with some officials in the OAGF to pad their salaries by manipulating the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS).
In one instance, an Assistant Director involved with the IPPIS unit of the RMAFC is under probe over salary padding.
The Assistant Director (AD), an IPPIS desk officer in charge of staff’ salary, was alleged to have connived with some staff of the OAGF to pad the salaries of unspecified number of lower level staff.
A source familiar with the incident said, “The AD in connivance with some staff are neck deep in the salary padding racket. The alarm blew up recently when a level 7 officer whose salary should be in the range of N60,000 was paid over N400,000, salary package of Director.
“What happened was, another colleague on same salary scale saw the pay slip of a female colleague with a net pay of over N400,000. Surprised, he tried to get details of the excess payment but was rebuffed.
“Following the cold attitude from his colleague, the aggrieved staff raised the alarm and a committee was set up to investigate the matter”.
The salary padding racket, the source learnt, has been on for a while among a small clique of civil servants in different MDAs with the IPPIS office in the OAGF as the epicentre.
Reacting to the development, the OAGF in a statement, said it is “in receipt of enquiries over alleged “salary padding” on the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) involving some unspecified Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA).”
The OAGF noted “there is no evidence of “salary padding” before the OAGF at this time; however, the office is aware of reported breach of the IPPIS third party payment protocol at an Institute outside Abuja”.
It added: “The incident has since been reported to, and is being investigated by relevant anti-corruption, security and regulatory agencies.
“In the meantime, a staff suspected to be connected with the breach has been suspended to allow for thorough investigation.
“All necessary steps are being taken to strengthen the controls around the IPPIS payment platform and an independent forensic audit of the entire payroll system is underway to ascertain if the reported breach is isolated or widespread”.
Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) Mohammed Bello Shehu, confirmed to The Nation the commission has identified some culprits and placed them on suspension pending the investigation of the incidence.
He said some staff of the Commission were found to have manipulated the IPPIS system to pad their salaries above what they were supposed to earn.
Shehu said: “If the indicted officials are found culpable of the salary padding allegations, they will be handed over to the appropriate authorities for prosecution”.
Business
USTR Criticises Nigeria’s Import Ban On Agriculture, Others
The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has criticised Nigeria’s import ban on 25 categories of goods, claiming that the restrictions limit market access for American exporters.
This is the effect of President Donald Trump’s tariffs introduction on goods entering the United States, with Nigeria facing a 14 per cent duty.
The USTR highlighted the impact of Nigeria’s import ban on various sectors, particularly agriculture, pharmaceuticals, beverages, and consumer goods.
The restrictions affect items such as beef, pork, poultry, fruit juices, medicaments, and alcoholic beverages, which the United States sees as significant barriers to trade.
The agency argues that these limitations reduce export opportunities for United States businesses and lead to lost revenue.
“Nigeria’s import ban on 25 different product categories impacts United States exporters, particularly in agriculture, pharmaceuticals, beverages, and consumer goods.
“Restrictions on items like beef, pork, poultry, fruit juices, medicaments, and spirits limit United States market access and reduce export opportunities.
“These policies create significant trade barriers that lead to lost revenue for United States businesses looking to expand in the Nigerian market”, the agency said .
In 2016, Nigeria implemented the ban on these 25 items as part of efforts to control imports and stimulate local production.
Some of the banned items include poultry, pork, refined vegetable oil, sugar, cocoa products, spaghetti, beer, and certain medicines.
On March 26, 2025, the Federal Government also announced plans to halt solar panel imports to encourage local manufacturing as part of its push for clean energy.
Business
Expert Seeks Cooperative-Driven Investments In Agriculture
A leading agribusiness strategist and digital agriculture expert, Ayo Oluwa Okediji, has sought cooperative-driven investments in sustaining growth of poultry industry in Nigeria.
He said the poultry industry was at a defining moment and requires urgent structural reforms to secure its future and ensure long-term sustainability.
Speaking on the theme, “Strengthening Poultry Farming Through Cooperative Synergy and Strategic Investments”, at the recently concluded Oyo Mega Poultry Workshop 2025 in Ibadan, Okediji called on poultry farmers, cooperative leaders, financial institutions and policy makers to rethink the existing structure of the poultry sector.
He stressed the need to transition from fragmented, individually-driven operations to well-structured, cooperative-led enterprises capable of attracting sustainable financing and securing long-term viability.
He said, “Our poultry sector cannot thrive on individual effort alone. We need to organise ourselves into cooperative clusters, build strong governance systems and position ourselves to attract the level of investment needed to sustain this industry beyond this generation.”
Drawing on lessons from successful global cooperative models such as Rabobank in the Netherlands and Landus Cooperative in the United States, Okediji introduced the FarmClusters Poultry Model, a locally adapted solution developed by Agribusiness Dynamics Technology Limited (AgDyna), a subsidiary of AgroInfoTech Africa.
According to him, the model is currently being piloted in Oyo State in partnership with PANOY Agribusiness Limited and local poultry cooperatives.
Business
NACCIMA Proposes Hybrid Oil Palm Seedlings For Farmers
The Rivers State Representative of the Nigeria Chambers of Commerce, Mines, Industries and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Mr. Erasmus Chukwundah, has urged palm oil farmers to consider hybrid seedlings for planting, if they must break even in palm oil business.
Chukwundah said this recently at the Free Oil Palm Business Climate Smart Best Management Practice/Assistance Training organized by Partnership Initiative In Niger Delta (PIND) for Palm Oil Farmers in Elele, Ikwerre Local Government Area.
The Rivers representative said until palm oil farmers begin to consider such hybrid oil palm seedlings, they may not meet up with the daily increasing demand of palm oil in the market.
According to him, the seedlings produce up to 30 bunches at once that ripen same time.
He said PIND decided to partner with Oil Palm Growers Association of Nigeria (OPGAN) to ensure that the message was received by the targeted audience.
According to him, palm oil remained a popular choice of industry operators as it could be converted to many other products such as vegetable cooking oil.
He also noted that products such as motor tyers, marine ropes and others are now gotten from the palm tree.
Chukwundah, who is the immediate past Director-General of Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Mines, Industries, and Agriculture (PHCCIMA), further warned against use of unrecommended fertilisers in growing oil palms.
He noted that such practices could limit its export value or chances as the foreign marketers have a way of detecting such .
He reiterated the need for organic fertilizers, including poultry droppings, to enable them have a natural palm oil.
“People must reduce physical contact with palm oil production. That is why we are campaigning for hydrolic oil mills. The foreign markets are no longer interested in crude method of palm oil production”, he said.
Meanwhile, one of the farmers, Sonny Didia, who appreciated Chukwundah’s commitment towards the concern of farmers, appealed for an urgent need for loan opportunity with low interest rate in order to enable them beat the target.
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