- 50ICPC uncovered 908 suspected ghost workers in 50 federal MDAs
- The commission said it recovered about ₦942 million in fraudulent salary payments
- The Nigeria Police Force recorded the highest number of suspected ghost workers
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) says it has uncovered 908 suspected ghost workers across at least 50 federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) during a nationwide payroll verification exercise.
According to the commission, Eko Hot Blog gathered that about ₦942 million allegedly paid as fraudulent salaries has been recovered in the course of the investigation.
EDITOR’S PICK
- 175th Kayokayo Festival Grand Finale: Epe Celebrates 175 Years of Faith, Heritage, Unity and Prosperity
- Wale Raji Reaffirms Commitment at KayoKayo Finale
- India: Massive Garbage Heap Collapse Kills Nine Workers at Waste-to-Energy Plant.
ICPC Chairman, Musa Adamu Aliyu (SAN), disclosed the findings while speaking on the commission’s ongoing probe into payroll fraud within Federal Government institutions.
Aliyu explained that ghost workers are fictitious names inserted into government payrolls to illegally receive salaries. He added that in some cases, public officials allegedly include relatives or associates on payrolls despite them not being legitimate employees.
He cited an instance where a suspect allegedly enrolled his wife, son and mother-in-law on the government payroll while also collecting the salaries of 12 other workers.
The Nigeria Police Force recorded the highest number of suspected ghost workers, with the ICPC identifying 570 names believed to be receiving salaries without being employed by the force.
The National Water Resources Authority followed with 80 suspected fake workers, while the Federal Ministry of Works recorded 56.
According to the commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had 24 suspected ghost workers, while the Ministry of Defence accounted for 19.
The Federal Ministry of Electricity and the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment each recorded 17 suspected fake workers, while the Federal Ministry of Health had 15. The Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation was found to have 12 suspected ghost workers.
The ICPC also listed the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Federal Ministry of Interior among institutions affected by the payroll fraud investigation but did not disclose the number of suspected ghost workers linked to the two offices.
The anti-corruption agency said investigations into the payroll fraud are continuing as efforts intensify to eliminate ghost workers from the Federal Government payroll system.
FURTHER READING
