Kwara uncovers 8,863 ghost workers gulping N437.5m monthly

By Wale Odunsi 

Kwara State Personnel Database Development committee says it has uncovered a total of 8,863 suspected ghost personnel on the payroll of both the state and local governments.

The alternate Chairman of the Committee, Alhaji Isiaka Gold, said this yesterday while submitting the Committee’s report to the Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed at the Government House, Ilorin.

He said the 8, 863 personnel could not be verified in the just concluded staff biometric verification exercise, noting that the development could potentially save both the State and local governments N437, 500, 513.56 monthly.

Alhaji Gold said at the time of commencing the verification exercise, the total number of staff on the payroll of both the State and local governments was 81, 446, but only 72, 583 of the workers and pensioners scaled through the verification process.

Giving a further breakdown of the report, the alternate chairman revealed that of the 35, 656 workers on the State government payroll, only 31, 652 were cleared and verified, leaving a total of 4,004 unverified personnel.

He said out of the 45, 790 workers and pensioners on the payroll of the 16 LGs in the State, only 40, 931 were verified, which leaves a total of 4, 859 unverified.

The Committee recommended that the verification exercise should be continuous and that the State government should implement a harmonized staff identification system, certificate verification and clock-in system, which will be deployed by the consultant at no cost to the government.

In his response, Governor Ahmed endorsed all the findings of the committee and also directed the State Ministry of Finance to adopt the Committee’s report to prepare the payroll of both the local and state government workers henceforth.

The governor, however, said that the ministry should warehouse the projected savings until it is ascertained that all workers and pensioners are verified.

Governor Ahmed thanked the consultant and members of the committee for the quality work done and expressed confidence that with the submission of the report, there will be an effective payroll administration at both the local and state levels.

·         Source: Daily Post