The Committee set up by Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State to verify workers without Bank Verification Number (BVN) said it uncovered 596 dead officers on the government payroll.

The Chairman of the committee, Adamu Gumba, disclosed this at a news conference in Bauchi on Monday.

“In the process of this exercise, we discovered that 596 deceased officers are on the government payroll.

“However, we have recommended to the state governor that their names should be removed from pension and the state payroll,’’ he said.

Mr Gumba, a former senator, also said the committee discovered that 30,276 workers were without BVN contrary to the initial figure of 41,448 suspected by the state government before the committee was set up.

“Out of the 30,276 people suspected to be without BVN, 24,736 people have been verified and cleared by the committee and their salaries and pensions will be paid.

“However, despite the extension of time given to the officers to come for the exercise, 4,578 consisting of both staff and pensioners still refused to show up.

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“Those that decided not to appear, we may not know, but clearly, they are suspects of ghost workers,” he said.

Mr Gumba said the exercise was done in two segments and people who were verified and cleared in each segment were recommended for payment of their October, November and December salaries and pensions.

He revealed that the committee also presented the third segment to the state governor who had approved the payment of the salaries and pensions to the people cleared.

(NAN)