By Anayo Okjoli

UMUAHIA—ABIA State  Government, yesterday, said its workers’ verification exercise has saved it about N160 million, being money previously paid to ghost workers and padded salaries.

The government also explained that it had not yet received bailout funds from the Federal Government, but got about N3 billion from the share of the LNG money distributed to states.

Accordingly, the government said it was still in the process of securing the bailout funds of N30 billion which would be sourced from the N250 billion mapped out by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, for the states.

The government, therefore, clarified that approval given by the state House Assembly for Governor Okezie Ikpeazu was for the N30 billion bonds  and not for loans from commercial banks.

According to Governor Ikpeazu’s Special Adviser on Economic Affairs, Mr. Obinna Oriaku, who spoke to newsmen in Umuahia, the approval from the House of Assembly was one of the requirements for the bailout bond to be secured.

Oriaku explained that the N30 billion was part of the state’s obligations to local government workers’ salary arrears which he put at about N9 billion, and pension arrears; obligation to contractors as well as obligations of  some government agencies. He said  the government accommodated obligations of some of its agencies like Abia State Polytechnic which owes First Bank N2 billion.

He stated that “no matter the intimidation, we will get the issue of ghost workers and padding of salary right” and clear the ghost worker syndrome in the system, lamenting that “we have a lot of people who are in Abuja, London and other places are receiving salary here.”