Zamfara government uncovers 2,363 ghost workers

The Zamfara State Government says it has uncovered 2,363 ghost workers from a verification exercise in the state civil service.

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Governor Dauda Lawal constituted a committee last August to conduct the verification exercise of the state’s workers ahead of the government implementing the N70,000 minimum wage

In a statement on Thursday, the governor’s spokesperson, Sulaiman Idris, said the committee headed by the state Head of Service also found that 220 minors were illegally receiving monthly salaries as civil servants.

“To improve the efficiency of the Zamfara State civil and public service, Governor Dauda Lawal formed a high-level committee tasked with verifying the state government’s payroll.

“The verification committee, led by the Zamfara State Head of Service, included the commissioner of finance, the chairman of the Zamfara State Labour Union, the Accountant General, the Auditor General, the Statistician General as members, and the Executive Secretary of ‘ZITDA’ as secretary.

“The committee’s primary responsibility involved verifying and integrating nominal and payroll systems and creating electronic employee files.

“The committee’s final report submitted to Governor Dauda Lawal highlighted that 27,109 permanent workers were cleared while workers with questionable employment include 2,363 ghost workers, 1082 civil servants who are due for retirement, 395 contract staff, 261 not on the nominal roll, 213 on study leave, 220 minors in employment, and 67 workers on secondment.

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“The report highlighted that 75 workers’ first appointment date is not in compliance with the issue date, and all of them were minors at the time of employment.

“During the verification, 2,363 ghost workers were exposed. They were paid a total of N193,642,097.19 every month.

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“1082 workers are due for retirement, and they collect a total sum of N80,542,298.26 monthly. At the same time, five workers found to be on secondment were paid monthly N354,927.60.

“The verification committee recommended suspending 207 workers who were not cleared. They are paid a total salary of N16,370,645.90 monthly.

“The committee found 12 workers on the payroll but not in the database and collected a monthly salary of N726,594.

“These verification exercises are ongoing efforts to monitor the Zamfara workforce and ensure transparency and accountability in service, especially as the minimum wage payments begin in March of this year,” the statement stated.