The Federal Ministry of Finance has disowned a fake message demanding ₦50,000 from newly recruited staff before resumption of duty, warning that the notice is the handiwork of fraudsters.
This was contained in a statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja by Efe Ovuakporie, Head of Information and Public Relations in the ministry.
The ministry described the message as fraudulent and “the handiwork of scammers targeting unsuspecting applicants with false recruitment claims.”
According to the ministry, the fake notice is titled “Administrative Update and Compliance Notice for Newly Recruited Staff.”
Mrs Ovuakporie said that the message “falsely claimed the human resource management department directed new employees to pay a non-refundable administrative fee.”
She said “no such directive was issued by any office or official of the ministry.”
The ministry explained that recruitment into the civil service “follows established Federal Civil Service procedures without payment of administrative, processing or resumption fees.”
It urged prospective employees and the public to ignore the fraudulent message and avoid making payments.
Mrs Ovuakporie also advised applicants “not to disclose personal or financial information to individuals behind the scam.”
The ministry encouraged anyone with useful information to report the matter to relevant law enforcement agencies.
She added that such information “could also be reported through the ministry’s official communication channels.”
Reaffirming the ministry’s stance, she said: “The ministry reaffirmed its commitment to transparency, fairness and integrity in all recruitment processes.”
Mrs Ovuakporie pledged “continued collaboration with relevant authorities to protect Nigerians from fraudsters operating in its name.”
The ministry also urged Nigerians to “verify recruitment information through official government channels before taking any action.”