After Series of Data Capture, Bio-metrics, 200 Ghost Workers Discover In Nasarawa Local Governments

Rabiu Omaku

The Nasarawa State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon Haruna Ilyas Osegba has revealed that 200 ghost workers were discovered in the Pay Voucher of civil servants at the third tier of government.

The Commissioner revealed this in an exclusive interview with selected Journalists shortly after the Joint Account Committee of Local Government held at the Ministry For Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.

According to the Commissioner, it was shocking when the names of the 200 ghost workers were deleted from the PV recently during the upgrade of the ministry system.

“The system deleted the names base on the biometric data captured carried  in 2013, saying huge amount of money went down the drain in the name of staff salaries and”.

“The implication was that the affected persons must have altered their records in order to still remain in service when they were supposed to retire,” the Commissioner added.

Osegba lamented why despite the fact that workers were retiring every year, but the salary remain the same over the years.

He urged all Council Chairmen to communicate to the ministry whenever any staffs retired to enable them remove such persons name from the Pay Voucher.

He noted that due to this kind of problem, the ministry had to augment the federal allocation for the month of March with N404, million to enable them pay 100 percent salary to workers.

Osegba therefore said that after the statutory deductions, they were left with N1. 7 billion.

Earlier, Aminu Maifata, Chairman of Lafia Local Government Area moved a motion for the ministry to augment the allocation to enable them pay 100 percent salary.