Kogi Lost N213 Billion To Ghost Workers

Kogi State Auditor-General, Mr Okala Yusuf, has said
that the state government lost N213 billion to 18, 211
ghost workers in the last 13 years,
He made the disclosure on Tuesday in Lokoja the state
capital while presenting the report of the just concluded
screening and verification exercise of the state workers
carried out by the government.
He said that the ghost workers were discovered in
Ministries, Departments, Agencies (MDAs) and in the 21
local government councils in the state.
He said that 7, 606 were discovered in the councils,
5,872 at the state level, while pensioners accounted for
1,040 of the ghost workers.
The AG said the exercise had reduced the joint
workforce of the state and local governments from 88,
973 to 63, 870.
He added that the monthly wage bill had also been
reduced from N5.8 billion to N4.6 billion.
Yusuf said that the 929 workers who were illegally
employed in the state in 2015 and 2016 were also among
those categorised as ghost workers.
He said that some workers categorised as being in the
Diaspora, who had been collecting their salaries for
years while residing in Abuja, Lagos, Kaduna and other
cities across the country were also affected.
He said that the committee relied on employees’ biodata
verification form and the Nigeria inter-bank payment
settlement system to identify the ghost workers.
He accused some “vested interest” of muddling the
report of the screening committee by omitting the
names of 14, 147 genuine workers and replacing them
with the names of unknown staff.
Yusuf, who served as chairman of the back up
committee that reviewed the report of the screening
committee, suggested the adoption of the integrated
and automation payroll system to curb leakages.
The AG suggested the establishment of pre-
disbursement audit unit before payment of salaries.
He said that all those who abetted or aided fraud in the
workforce of the state and local governments should be
identified and made to face the consequences of their
actions.
Speaking after the presentation of the report, Governor
Yahaya Bello said that the discovery had justified the
good intention of the government to embark on the
screening and verification.
He inaugurated a 15-member committee to review the
report, saying that anybody with genuine complaint
should channel it through the committee.
He promised to correct lopsidedness in the state civil
service and block leakages.
He added: “Less than two per cent of the population
should not be allowed to continue to corner the
resources meant for 3.4 million people.
“This is unsustainable; the choice we have is to either
reform the service or continue with the distortions in
the socio-economic life of our people“.
He accused previous administrations in the state of
abandoning governance, saying that his administration
was determined to carry out comprehensive reforms of
the civil service.
“This is a way of saying that we are not ready to
continue with the past and put permanent stop to the
syndrome of ghost workers,” he said.
While reiterating the determination of his administration
to adhere strictly to the principles of transparency and
accountability, Bello said that government would
endeavour to enhance the capacity of the successful
workers.

TheNation