Finance ministry debunks N50,000 recruitment fee, warns applicants

The Federal Ministry of Finance has disowned a fake message demanding N50,000 from newly recruited staff before resumption of duty.

The ministry spokesperson, Efe Ovuakporie, made this known in a statement on Wednesday, July 29, 2026.

Ovuakporie described the message as fraudulent and the handiwork of scammers targeting unsuspecting applicants with false recruitment claims.

Ovuakporie said the fake notice titled, “Administrative Update and Compliance Notice for Newly Recruited Staff, 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.

Ovuakporie noted that recruitment follows established Federal Civil Service procedures without payment of administrative, processing or resumption fees.

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Ovuakporie urged prospective employees and the public to ignore the fraudulent message and avoid making payments.

She also advised applicants not to disclose personal or financial information to individuals behind the scam.

The ministry spokesperson urged anyone with useful information to report the matter to law enforcement agencies.

Ovuakporie added that such information could also be reported through the ministry’s official communication channels.