Ekiti Uncovers Illegal Disbursement of ₦20m To Ghost Workers

The Ekiti State Government has discovered an illegal payment of ₦20 million monthly as salary for 362 ghost workers in the state’s Local Governments.

Commissioner for Local Government and Community Development, Prof. Adio Folayan, disclosed this while presenting a State Staff Verification Committee report to Governor Kayode Fayemi in Ado Ekiti on Wednesday.

Set up by the government to audit the local government staff, the committee was charged with identifying those who are genuine or fake workers.

According to Folayan, earlier preliminary findings, but the ghost workers at 652.

”Further screening by the committee revealed that only 362 workers out of the initial figure were clarified to be on the government payroll as of June 2019.

”The committee recommends that all illegal salaries so far earned by the affected workers should be deducted from their pension and gratuity.

”It also recommended that all involved should be prosecuted for fraud, along with anyone or persons identified to be their accomplices,” he said.

The commissioner said there is a need for the councils’ Heads of the Department to start enforcing discipline.

”They must introduce schedules of duties to their officers so that errant officers would be punished for any infraction,” he said.

Receiving the report, Gov. Fayemi expressed gratitude to members of the committee for their dedication and promised to look into the recommendations for immediate implementation.

 

Source: News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)