…saves N100m from exercise

By Wole Mosadomi – Minna

Niger state government has uncovered one thousand ghost workers from the State Civil Service. The state reported it saved more than one hundred million naira (N100m) following the result of the exercise.

Gov Abubakar Sani Bello, of Niger State

Chairman of the Committee on Civil Servants Salary Management and Verification, Engr. Ibrahim Mohammed Panti who made this known while speaking with Journalists in Minna, Niger State said a lot of discrepancies and malpractices were discovered during the verification exercise of the workers especially in the payment of salaries.

According to him “the discrepancies discovered in the course of the committee’s work include duplication of Bank verification number (BVN), multiple bank accounts number of some staff, duplication of civil servant control and identification numbers as well as discovery of fictitious names of workers appearing in payment vouchers but could not be traced to the nominal roll with office of the Head of Service.

“The state’s staff strength of over twenty-seven thousand (27,000) people have so far been reduced to about twenty-six thousand (26,000) while some few ghost workers have also been discovered by the committee.

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“The discrepancies were also found in the payment of staff grade levels due to the different figures in payment vouchers and more revelations are still expected from the outcome of the verification exercise,” he declared.

He disclosed that out of the 95 Ministries, Departments and Agencies asked to submit their staff list, only 42 complied, adding that the committee will not pay October salary to any of the MDAs that refuse to submit theirs on or before 2nd October.

He said the exercise was aimed at blocking all avenues to seal the leakages in salary payment to civil servants and not to witch-hunt anyone.

Panti also said that the exercise is also carried out to know the staff strength of Civil Servants in the State before the commencement of payment of the N30, 000 minimum wage.

Vanguard News Nigeria.