BY Peter Duru

MAKURDI- automation of the salary payment in Benue State civil service has helped the government save N100 million monthly from ghost workers on its payroll.

Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Omadachi Oklobia disclosed this, yesterday, during the accountability press briefing to mark Governor Gabriel Suswam’s first year of his second tenure.

Oklobia said the project, which started in September 2009 in the state’s civil service, has helped the government keep an accurate data on its staff strength with its attendant benefits to the state’s finances just as it has minimised incidences of fraud in the salary payment processes.

He said: “The project took off in September 2009 in the mainstream of the civil service and its benefit and potentials are not in doubt. “The state has been saving over N100 million monthly since then.”

He added that the government had also approved the conduct of a biometric exercise to ascertain that the identified ghost workers had not re-entered the state’s payroll.

The Commissioner added that the benefit of the programme has prompted an approval by the State Executive Council to implement the e-payment system to cover salaries to teachers by the State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB, local governments’ staff and pensioners.