Imo Civil Service Commission Seeks Tougher Sanctions Against Workers with Fake Birth Records

The Imo State Civil Service Commission has called on the National Council of Civil Service Commissions to adopt a firm and enforceable policy that penalises any government worker found to have falsified or presented multiple birth certificates while advancing through the Federal, State or Local Government service.

The appeal was contained in a memorandum submitted at the 44th National Council and Annual Conference of Civil Service Commissions, held on Tuesday in Umuahia, Abia State. The gathering, themed “Repositioning Civil Service Commissions in Nigeria as a Hub of Professionalism in Public Service Human Resource Management,” brought together officials from across the country to discuss reforms within the public sector.

Presenting Imo State’s position, the Permanent Secretary of the Imo Civil Service Commission, Evans Iroanya, described age falsification as a long-running problem undermining the integrity and efficiency of the nation’s bureaucracy. He argued that enforcing strict penalties for such misconduct would help ensure timely retirements, free up positions for deserving officers, and create employment openings for young Nigerians.

According to Iroanya, disciplining culprits would “restore order within the public service and eliminate situations where junior officers are unable to advance due to stagnation caused by their superiors’ extended stay.”

He recommended that only birth certificates issued by the National Population Commission or government-owned hospitals should be accepted for recruitment into the service.

The memorandum urged all tiers of government to issue a formal directive stating that any worker caught altering or tampering with their date of birth should face dismissal and prosecution in a competent court. It also called for renewed emphasis on accurate record-keeping and a clear outline of institutions authorised to issue valid birth documents.

In his response, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Civil Service Commission, Phillip Ebiogeh, noted that age-declaration affidavits remain permissible within the civil service. He explained that many hospitals have yet to fully digitise their records, and unforeseen incidents such as fires and floods sometimes destroy original documents—making sworn declarations necessary in certain circumstances.