Ekiti uncovers 2,000 ghost workers

By Gbenga Ariyibi
Following intensive screening conducted by the Ekiti State Government, it has discovered over 2,000 ghost workers  in the 16 Local Government Areas of the state collecting salaries in the Councils.

Addressing newsmen weekend, the Chairman, Ekiti State Local Government Service Commission, Chief Femi Akinyemi, said the exercise had paid off as the State Government was able to save over N27million last month after the payment of salary

Akinyemi, said the discovery was made during a screening exercise recently conducted by the Commission to ascertain the actual numbers of workers in the employment of the commission at the local government level.

According to him, “people without certificates were 600, those that failed to turn up for the screening exercise were 400, while 400 employees in possession of just primary six certificates were discovered to be in level 13/14, over 700 employees were involved in  irregular promotion, advancement and conversion”.

“Some employees were discovered to be taking salaries in four different departments in one local government Area, while some were found taking salaries in two and three different local government at the same time”, Akinyemi said

Akinyemi, former  Speaker in the Old Ondo State House of Assembly, posited that the  present global economic meltdown was a blessing in disguise for the state, because it had enabled it to look inward and block all the leakages that were being used to drain the state by some few people.

The PDP stalwart who lamented the unwholesome development in the Local Government Areas of the state,  maintained that the screening exercise was just the beginning, according to him, “the old order is gone, we are going to nip all the anomalies in the administration of the local government in the bud, in order to make sure we move the local government system forward”

He posited that there is need to re-engineer and re-restructure the local government for an effective service delivery

Akinyemi disclosed that two major strategies would be employed before the end of the year, apart from the usual screening exercise to flush out all the ghost workers within the system, adding that the new scheme of service which was introduced by his

commission in the local government administration would be implemented to the letter

He maintained  further that plans are under way to computerized the local government system, he said that the project which was close to Governor Oni’s heart, was put on hold as result of the re-run governorship election would now commence in earnest

According to him, the computerization project would come with biometrics

programming that would forestall multiple collection of salary by a single person in different local government or different department of a local government, saying  “if this is the only achievement of Segun Oni in stabilizing the local government area that would be enough”