The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, has directed all the principal officers at the Nigerian Army headquarters, Abuja, to spend the Yuletide in Sambisa Forest and other frontlines in Borno State where the troops are stationed.

Buratai said this on Tuesday at a workshop on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System for the Nigerian Army in Abuja.

He added that the move was to boost the morale of the troops.He said, "We must understand that seamless and regular payment of personnel salaries and allowances is an essential ingredient for the sustenance of the morale of the troops.

"In this regards, I have directed the principal staff officers at the army headquarters and the commanders to celebrate the Yuletide with the troops in the theatres of operations. This will help to boost the morale of the soldiers, consolidate on the operations and help our decision to eliminate the insurgents from the North-East."

The Army chief said the IPPIS was to ensure that payment of salaries of soldiers keyed into the directive of the Federal Government of having an integrated system.

He stated, "The migration of the military's payroll into the IPPIS is in compliance with the directive of the Federal Government. It is an integral part of the macro-economic public sector financial reformS.

"The objectives of the IPPIS are to ensure transparency, accountability and to improve the effectiveness of payroll administration. I have directed all the steps to be taken to direct our payroll into the IPPIS."

The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, who was represented at the event by a director, Muhammed Dikwa, said 400 military personnel had been enrolled on the IPPIS.

Adeosun added, "The system has to do with the military personnel's pensions and associated records. It is a centralised account of government where all the personnel remit funds and they can access it when it is due.

"The IPPIS dates back to 2007 and we have enrolled 400 personnel from the military departments and agencies.

"We have held a series of meetings to discuss the roadmaps and hopefully, by next year, there will be a full migration of the military to the IPPIS. This will bring about improvements in the salary and pension administration of the Nigerian Army."

Source: http://nignews.com.ng/army-principal-officers-to-spend-yuletide-in-sambisa/