The Nasarawa State Commissioner of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Haruna Osegba, says more than 60 per cent of local government workers in the state are receiving salaries for doing nothing.

“We have discovered that over 60 percent of staff at the local government levels are not going to work, but only come to receive salary at the end of the month,’’ he told newsmen on Tuesday in Lafia.

Mr. Osegbe who met with members of the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in the state, said the government had established a machinery to check the situation.

The commissioner said the government was worried that the salaries of local government workers were being paid in piecemeal in the last one year even though most of the workers do not even go to work.

“We have put machinery in motion to check this trend and anyone found culpable would face serious disciplinary action,” he added.

Mr. Osegba assured that the ministry would promote “all dedicated local government workers to boost their morale.’’

He said that the state Local Government Service Commission had conducted a screening of genuine local council workers and would release the list of those cleared soon.

The commissioner further assured that the government was doing its best to restore full salary payment to all local government workers as at when due.

Earlier, the Chairman of the chapel, Suleiman Abubakar, urged the commissioner to ensure that local government workers receive their full salaries, to enable them meet their daily obligations.

(NAN)