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Tag: ghost workers

  • Bayelsa uncovers 5000 ghost workers

    At least 5,000 ghost workers have been discovered from the payroll of Bayelsa State, the government said yesterday.

    The Chief Accountant in the Office of Special Adviser on Treasury, Accounts and Revenue, Dr David Ala-Peter, said the ghost workers were found after the recent staff verification exercise.

    He said more than 50,000 workers were captured in the exercise.

    Ala-Peter explained that the exercise was aimed at identifying fake names to reduce the state’s wage bill.

    He said: “The panel has done well during the exercise. We use software of international standards such as the Oracle software.

    “The method used was very effective. We have established staff data base; we captured both their finger prints, dates of birth and their credentials.

    “During the exercise, we verified more than 50,000 workers. Right now, we are operating with little above 45,000 workers.”

    The accountant said currently in the state, names in the payroll could not be duplicated because of fingerprint identification.

    While saying that the exercise reduced the state’s wage bill, he however, added:  “But I may not be able to ascertain the correct figure.”

    Hitherto, the wage bill of the state ran above N4bn.

    Governor Seriake Dickson complained about the bloated wages of workers and lamented in July that the government’s wage bill of N4.3bn was too much and unsustainable.

    He said that the state government’s wage bills “over the months remains a sour point in our financial balance sheet.”

    He said: “I disagree with this figure of N4.3bn because it is not sustainable for our economy. We must come together and do something urgently to reduce this figure. We have to do something if we must grow our economy.”

  • 8,863 ‘ghost workers’ uncovered in Kwara

    8,863 ‘ghost workers’ uncovered in Kwara

    The Kwara State government yesterday said it discovered 8,863 ghost workers in its employ.
    The Personnel Database Development Committee said the suspected ghost workers were uncovered in the payroll of state and local governments.
    The committee’s Alternate Chairman Isiaka Gold spoke while submitting the committee’s report to Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed at the Government House in Ilorin, the state capital.
    He said the 8,863 workers could not be verified in the biometric exercise.
    Gold, who is secretary to the state government (SSG), noted that the state and councils lose N437,500,513.56 monthly to the fraud.
    He said during verification, 81,446 workers were found on both payrolls but that only 72,583 and pensioners scaled through.
    Of 35,656 workers on the state’s payroll, 31,652 were cleared, leaving 4,004 un-verified; only 40,931 of 45,790 council workers were cleared.
    The committee recommended that the verification be continuous, urging the government to implement a harmonised staff identification system, certificate verification and clock-in system, to be deployed by the consultant at no cost.
    Governor Ahmed endorsed the committee’s findings and directed the Ministry of Finance to prepare the payroll of council and state workers henceforth.
    The governor, however, said the ministry should warehouse the projected savings until all workers and pensioners were verified.

  • Borno uncovers 10,000 ghost workers

    Borno uncovers 10,000 ghost workers

    Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno said the state government had uncovered more than 10, 000 ghost workers out of the 25,000 civil servants in the state’s work force.

    The governor said in a radio and television broadcast in Maiduguri on Wednesday that the workers were uncovered after a verification to determine the actual size of the state’s work force.

    ”You may recall that in December 2015, while presenting the 2016 budget at the House of Assembly, I promised to embark on staff verification to determine the actual size of the state civil service.

    “We set up a high powered committee chaired by the Secretary to the State Government to carry out a verification of the state civil service,” he said.

    Shettima said that the committee verified only 19,763 workers out of the 25,000 workers on the state payroll.

    “To finalise the exercise, a consultancy firm was hired for biometric data capture of the workers.

    “As of today, 11, 397 workers have been dully captured as being bonafide staff of the state.

    “Others — about 7,392 — workers have yet to be captured, out of which 4,000 workers have issues with their banks.

    ”There are also about 3,000 workers who failed to comply with the guidelines on the filling the verification forms,” he explained.

    The governor said he had directed the committee to sort out all those issues within one week to enable the state to pay those workers already captured.

    Shettima pointed out that entire salary of the 11, 397 workers captured stood at N1.129 billion as against the usual N2.7 billion.

    “The entire salaries of the 11, 397 workers already captured stood at N1.129 billion; that is about N2.258 billion for the two months pending.

    “I have directed the Ministry of Finance to pay the two months’ salaries to those workers.

    ”I have also urged them to ensure weekly payment to all those to be captured and updated as we move on.

    ”The two months salaries of N2,258 billion are not even up to our former N 2.7 billion wage bill for one month.

    “Even if the wage bill goes to N1.7 billion or even N2 billion, we can still save up to N700 million monthly” he said.

    He commended the labour leadership in the state for its understanding throughout the verification.

  • NLC demands prosecution of ghost workers

    The Akwa Ibom chapter of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called for the prosecution of all perpetrators of ghost workers syndrome in the nation’s public service.

    Chairman of the council in the state, Mr Etim Ukpong, made the call in Uyo on Friday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

    Ukpong decried that over the years, different tiers of government had complained of ghost workers but that no perpetrator of the act had been identified or punished.

    He said that he would like to see the payroll officers and their supervisors prosecuted in the court and jailed if found culpable, to serve as deterrent to others.

    Ukpong decried a situation where the government could not pay workers and pensioners promptly and regularly, because of bloated wage bill occasioned by ghost workers syndrome.

    He expressed the hope that with the use of bank verification number and biometric capturing, the problem of ghost workers would be eliminated in Nigeria.

    On non-payment of pensioners in the state, Ukpong regretted that primary school teachers, who retired in June, 2015, only got one month’s pension a year after.

    “We have the issue of pension mostly in local government, direct local government workers and primary school teachers.

    “Direct state workers in ministries do not have serious problem and the government has been meeting their obligation,” Ukpong said.

    He, however, disagreed with the state government that pensioners were not owed, saying that the unpleasant condition of the pensioners forced them to form associations like “Local Government Retirees’ Pensions Group’’ and “Retired Teachers’ Pension Group’’.

    He disclosed that some retirees had been swindled by persons claiming to have access to the state government and would cause their entitlements to be paid.

    “We want to request our senior citizens, the retired workers, whether from local government, teachers or anywhere, that the NLC is working to ensure that all retirees are paid,” Ukpong said.

    He commended the state’s House of Assembly for intervening in the lingering problem of non-payment of pensioners by setting up a seven-member committee to resolve the problem.

    “Our position in the NLC is to agitate for workers in the state; I am very happy because the state has really come to listen to these issues.

    “The House of Assembly ad hoc committee is headed by a former labour chairman in the state, Udo Kerian-Akpan, now representing Oruk-Anam State Constiuency,” Ukpong said.

    He said that there was another committee working on verification of the actual number of pensioners in the state, and that he would cause the list to be pasted at NLC House.

    He expressed the hope that retirees in the state would be paid their entitlements promptly when the verification exercise was completed.

     

  • Federal government uncovers 5,000 more ghost workers, says osinbajo

    Federal government uncovers 5,000 more ghost workers, says osinbajo

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday acknowledged that times are hard, appealing to Nigerians to bear with the government.

    Prof. Osinbajo, who spoke at a church programme in Ogere, Ogun State, said the government uncovered additional 5,000 ghost workers in the civil service.

    The discovery has brought the number of ghost workers  uncovered to 40,000 under the Single Treasury Account (TSA).

    Represented by Pastor Seyi Malomo, chaplain of the Presidential Villa Chapel, at the 80th Tabieorar Festival of the Church of the Lord Prayer Fellowship Worldwide, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Osinbajo said he and President Muhammadu Buhari, shared the people’s pain.

    He promised that there would be “full restoration soon”.

    The annual spiritual programme, which attracted dignitaries worldwide, started at 4 pm on Monday, and ended at 5 am yesterday.

    The Vice President said: “For instance, government has introduced major fiscal measures to save our nation’s hard earned income…Also , government is daily weeding out public sector ghost workers;  over 40,000 so far. Before now, salaries collected by ghost workers on a monthly basis ran into billions of naira that could have been profitably used for the public. We have cut down and are still cutting down on frivolous expenditures”.

    Reiterating that the administration inherited a badly-managed economy, high level insecurity and massive corruption, the Vice President said the government was tackling these challenges.

    The presidency, he said, would  re-lay the foundation to take Nigeria back to glory.

    The Vice President explained that the government has returned to sustainable economic development with a focus on agriculture , adding that the initiative would address youth unemployment.

    “We are gradually diversifying the economy by exploring alternative revenue options, particularly in the solid and natural mineral sector. Recently, we untied the legal knot that had kept a major economic sector comatose for years. As a result we should see results from the resuscitation of the Nigeria Iron Mining Company, Itakpe, and the Ajaokuta Steel , Kogi “, he said.

    Earlier, the church’s Primate Rev Rufus Okikiola Ositelu  called for special courts to handle  corruption cases. He praised the bold actions of President Buhari in the  fight against corruption.

    The primate urged all levels of government to intensify efforts towards closing the infrastructure gap.

    Speaking on the theme of this year’s festival “ Glory to Glory”, Ositelu said the Holy Mount Tabieorar was founded for distribution and impartation of God’s mercies .

    He enjoined the congregation to focus on the ultimate goal of eternal life rather than present pains .

    “As we face great troubles ,it is easy to focus on the pains rather than on our ultimate goal. Just as athletes concentrate on the finish line and ignore their discomfort , we too must focus on the reward for our faith and the joy that lasts forever . No matter what happens to us in this life , we have the assurance of eternal life  when all suffering will end and all sorrow will flee away”, he said.

    In attendance were top government officials, lawmakers, members of diplomatic Corps, traditional rulers, the General Secretary World Council of Churches (WCC), Geneva, Switzerland, Rev. Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit, and Ecumenical Theologian , Bread for the World, Berlin, Germany, Rev. Prof. Dietrich Werner.

     

  • Bindow and Adamawa ghost workers

    Sir: Payroll fraud which Nigerians have come to know as “ghost workers” is a deep-rooted problem for most governments, especially in Nigeria.

    It will not be far from the truth to say that this ‘cancerous’ evil against the state is almost becoming the news-maker across most African countries these days. It is mostly caused by the absence of audit and accountability which allows corrupt payroll staff to manipulate government expenditures through ways they feel can never be exposed.

    In a brave attempt to combat this predicament in Adamawa State, the governor, Senator Muhammadu Jibrilla Bindow, constituted a Payroll Verification Committee headed by Chief Maurice Vunobolki, an accomplished accountant and financial expert.

    As part of its terms of reference, the committee was empowered to verify “the State Local Governments’ workforce (existing payroll structure) with a view to creating a database for effective implementation of e-payment salary system”.

    Having followed this issue assiduously and relentlessly, I am aware that the task-force worked laboriously and uncovered 12,609 ghost workers from the 51,369 staff on the payroll of all the local government councils in the state.

    According to the report, the committee had cleared 38,760 members of staff and rolled them over to the e-payment database. The rest were cases ranging from “failure to show up for the screening exercise”, “underage employment”, “Payment Voucher” (PV) and “Pay Record Card (PRC) alteration”, “employments that violated executive approvals and irregular employments.”

    The success of the audit is also expected to practically rake in a whooping N548.5m to the state’s treasury as Personal Income Tax annually.

    In the end, the verification exercise was reported to have exposed a gross financial implication of N341.5m monthly and N4.1bn annually.

    But in a highly unusual move, representatives of “The Coalition of Local Government Civil Servants” in Adamawa State kicked, urging Governor Bindow to disregard the Vunobolki report and further lauded the State House of Assembly for passing a resolution suspending this lofty reform initiatives of the governor aimed at checking this malady called payroll fraud.

    This apparently daft move is nothing but a strategy to double-cross the public, a well calculated ploy to frustrate the good-intentions of the Bindow-led administration.

    This move must be stopped if we do not want the current process of development in Adamawa State halted by some individuals who obviously do not mean well for our dear state.

    Why would the Coalition of Local Government Civil Servants call for the suspension of a report aimed at saving the local government money when it is public knowledge that Katsina State now saves about N500m monthly, Kano State is able to save over N283.5m monthly and AbiaState has succeeded in reducing its monthly wage bill from N1.5bn to N1.0 57bn respectfully following audit programmes which ensured the flushing out ghost workers?

    The 21 Local Government Council representatives have uniquely shown that they are unqualified to serve as public officers both in integrity and decision making process.

    It is disappointing that the white paper on recommendations of the Local Government Staff Verification Committee in the state, submitted to the Adamawa State House of  Assembly is about to become a victim of partisan analysis. This is why my heart bleeds for the Land of Beauty!

    We urge Governor Bindow and the Adamawa State House of Assembly Verification Ah-hoc Committee currently conducting sittings on the Maurice Vunobolki report to be mindful that a great number of concerned citizens of Adamawa both at home and in the Diaspora are poised to ensure that their efforts in defending the masses from sleazy pilferers are not thwarted.

     

    • David Dimas

    Maryland, U.S.A.

  • 9,000 ‘ghost workers’ detected in Kogi

    9,000 ‘ghost workers’ detected in Kogi

    The Kogi State government has said 9,000 workers did not come for workers’ verification, making it dub them as “ghost workers”.

    Chairman of the Screening Committee Henry Agbaji spoke yesterday at a stakeholders’ meeting at the Government House in Lokoja.

    Agbaji said 25,208 forms were given out in the 21 councils, but only 22,272 workers came for screening. The 2,936 workers, who did not come, are considered as “ghost workers”.

    “Twenty-five thousand, two hundred and sixty-two  screening forms were issued to primary school teachers but only 22,608 showed up for the screening, indicating that the 3,005 who did not show up are also ghost workers,” he added.

    Agbaji noted that some workers had issues ranging from forged certificates, lack of Bank Verification Number (BVN) or statement of accounts, while some worked in another state but draw salary either from the state or at the local government level.

    Auditor-General of local governments Alhaji Ahmed Ododo said the back-up committee charged with cross-checking activities of the screening committee, found out that over 40 untreated forms were included on the screened list.

    “The committee’s findings, as revealed at the meeting, were just one per cent of the anomalies discovered. In College of Education, Ankpa, Mr. Orokpo David, who joined the civil service in 1977 and has worked for 39 years, was cleared by the committee.

    “Also in Kogi State University (KSU), there was a case of double employment. Dr. Alabi David Oladele filled and signed two forms and was cleared.

    “It was discovered that Dr. Alabi is a staff of KSU and the Kogi State University Teaching Hospital. This man draws about N560,000 from each of the institutions,” Ododo said.

    He said it was discovered that the Kogi State Polytechnic staff strength was overbloated by over 1,200, and appealed to Governor Yahaya Bello to delegate a team to the institution to unravel the anomaly.

  • EFCC uncovers 37,395 ghost workers in Federal Civil Service

    EFCC uncovers 37,395 ghost workers in Federal Civil Service

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has uncovered 37,395 ghost workers on the Federal Civil Service payroll, its Acting Chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, said yesterday.

    Magu, who spoke at an anti-corruption sensitisation programme, organised by the commission for workers in Works and Housing sectors, added that the government lost about N1 billion to the ghost workers.

    He said besides the widespread procurement fraud in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), the issue of ghost workers was a source of concern to the commission.

    “EFCC has uncovered 37,395 ghost workers in the Federal Civil Service and investigation is still on.

    “Our investigation has shown that the Federal Government lost close to N1 billion to these ghost workers.

    “The figure will definitely increase as we unravel more ghost workers buried deep in Federal Civil Service payrolls,’’ the commission’s chairman said.

    He explained that the commission had established a Procurement Fraud Unit to handle the increasing petitions relating to violations of the Public Procurement Laws.

    Magu advised civil servants to avoid any act in breach of public procurement, warning that violators risked imprisonment and dismissal from service.

    “In regard to procurement fraud, there has been a sharp rise in the number of petitions relating to violations of the Public Procurement Act (2007).

    “That is what informed my setting up a Procurement Fraud Unit, which has commenced investigation of procurement fraud cases, with some already in courts.

    “Let me warn that civil servants found guilty under the Public Procurement Act risk terms of imprisonment, ranging from five to 10 years, and in addition, may face dismissal from service.

    “The commission is determined more than ever before to rid MDAs of fraudulent activities.’’

    The EFCC chairman announced that the commission planned to place suggestion boxes at designated places for people to drop petitions and reports of corrupt practices to assist the commission in the fight against corruption.

    Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary (Works and Housing), Alhaji Abubakar Magaji, said as the drivers of government policies, MDAs, should be in the forefront of compliance with public service laws and regulations.

    He said: “It is rather sad that over time, the laws, regulations and standard practice governing the operations of the public service are being neglected and often abused, in many cases with impunity.

    “The MDAs are expected to be in the forefront of compliance with extant laws and regulations, because they constitute the engine room of government.

    “They are responsible for implementation of government’s policies and programmes. Therefore, the success or failure of such policies and programmes are on the shoulders of public officers.’’

     

     

  • Kano discovers 7, 629 ghost workers on payroll

    Kano discovers 7, 629 ghost workers on payroll

    Kano state government Tuesday said it has discovered 7, 629 ghost workers on the payroll of the government in the on-going biometric exercise for civil servants in the state.

    The Head of Service, Malam Muhammad Awwal Na’Iya who disclosed during a joint press conference with Commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammad Garba, said that the state was able to save overN283, 580, and 848.44 from the blocked ghost workers.

    Na’Iya said that the state presently has a workforce of over 150, 000 civil servants, while it pays over N8 billion as monthly salary.

    He explained that 17 staff were also discovered to be collecting double salary amounting to over N1 million per month, adding that investigation into their matter was on as they will face prosecution and be made to return state fund soonest.

    He also explained that 86, 373 civil servants were captured in the on-ogoing biometric exercise which he said will be continuous, “what we are having today is an interim briefing on the exercise. We want to say that since February the exercise started, we have not had any problem and we promise to keep you posted as we move on.”

    According to him, despite the dwindling financial resources facing the country, Kano state government has been able to pay workers’ salaries as at when due, “as I am speaking to you now, we are not owing workers in the state and we promise to ensure that workers’ welfare are always taking care of.”

    The Head of Service, however, warned civil servants who are collaborating with fraudulent elements to aid and abet collection of double salaries to desist from such act or be ready to receive their sack letters and face prosecution.

    He further noted that staff who were not captured in the on-going biometric data capture would be deleted from the payroll of Kano state government, adding that, “the exercise is still ongoing, however, concerted efforts are being made to ensure its successful completion soonest.”

     

  • EFCC probes clues in payment of N1b to ‘ghost’ workers

    EFCC probes clues in payment of N1b to ‘ghost’ workers

    Detectives are probing fresh clues on the alleged diversion of public funds to pay 23,000 ghost workers.

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was shocked to discover that most of the slush accounts used for the pay fraud have either irregular Bank Verification Number (BVN) or no BVN at all, it was learnt yesterday.

    The fresh clue raises the suspicious that the pay fraud cases may be more than the N1billion so far uncovered by the EFCC.

    Some civil servants were said to have fled from their duty posts following the smashing of the syndicate behind the ghost workers.

    More workers might be picked up in the next few days by the anti-graft agency, a source close to the investigation said.

    A top source in EFCC said: “The fact that the commission’s investigation revealed additional 200 ghost workers indicates that the size of the scam could be more than what the ministry reported. The amount involved is certainly more than N1 billion.

    “The latest clues at our disposal have shown that more civil servants were involved in the IPPIS scandal. We are analysing all these fresh clues.

    “We are also on the trail of most of the culprits and their accomplices outside the civil service.”

    “It is amazing how the members of the syndicate were able to penetrate the banks to perpetrate the fraud,” the source added, adding:

    “It is apparent that members of the syndicate were working in collaboration with some staff of one or two banks.

    “We are, however, conducting due diligence on all the accounts to sift the wheat from the chaff. In fact, some of the accounts made available by the Ministry of Finance do not belong to ghost workers. We will not allow the innocent to suffer.”

    The EFCC has released on bail Ronke Usman, one of those implicated in the alleged ghost workers fraud.

    She has been granted bail pending the conclusion of the investigation. But her husband, Dayo Usman Aliyu, is still being detained.”

    The Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun recently summoned the managing director of a first generation bank over the alleged complicity of the bank in the payment of salaries to 23,000 ghost workers on the payroll of the Federal Government.

    Also, the Minister asked the Director General of Pension Commission, Ms Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, to appear before a probe panel in her ministry on how Pension Funds Administrators(PFAs)  allegedly generated fake PFA numbers for the “ghost workers”.

    After the initial probe by the ministry, the Minister handed over the case to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    In its preliminary findings, the EFCC smashed a nine-man syndicate behind N1billion salary fraud for 599 ghost workers.

    The anti-graft agency also arrested  the couple said to be members of the syndicate.

    The couple work in the office of  the Accountant-General of the Federation, where gaps in the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System(IPPIS) were exploited.

    Another suspected member of the syndicate, Bede Anyanwu, who is an accountant with the Federal Ministry of Environment, was quizzed and released on administrative bail.