Absentee teacher to refund N1.4million to Ebonyi govt

The Ebonyi State government has ordered a primary school teacher in Izzi local government area of the state to refund N1.4million which she received as salary even while staying away from work for five years.

Angela Nwofoke was suspended indefinitely and is to be prosecuted for alleged fraud.

Also, the school head, Gregory Nwajiaku and about 20 other teachers were demoted by one grade level and transferred out of the school for allegedly conniving with Mrs. Nwofoke to defraud government.

Mrs. Nwofoke was said to have absconded from her duty post for five years, replacing herself with one Miss Theresa whom she pays N8,000 (eight thousand naira) monthly out of her salary to stand in for her.

Discovering the fraud at the weekend when he paid a visit to the school, the State Chairman of the Universal Basic Education Board(UBEB), Hyacinth Ikpor, said the board uncovered Mrs. Nwofoke’s trick during a recent
personnel audit.

He said the teacher abandoned her duty post since 2012 but resurfaced following the staff audit.

‘’We have checked the total amount of money paid to you in all these five years of your abscondment and it came to one million, one hundred
and twenty six thousand, seventy four naira, twenty nine kobo. This was your salary for the year 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.

‘’So, we were paying you while you were not working for us and you have to refund that money. You are placed on indefinite suspension from Ebonyi State School system. Later on, you will be prosecuted by law enforcement agencies,’’ the board chair told Nwofoke.

Addressing the school head and teachers, Mr. Ikpor said, ‘’All of you, if you claim that you don’t know that someone else is answering Angela different from Theresa who has been representing her for five years now, then all of you are liars.