Ghost workers; Bauchi uncovers 41,000

Governor Bala Muhammed of Bauchi

Over 41,000 ghost workers are on the payroll of the Bauchi State Government, it was learnt at the weekend.

Governor Bala Mohammed, who revealed this, said he uncovered the practice after his assumption of office five months ago.

He said out of the 101,000 civil servants, thousands are receiving salaries without the compulsory Bank Verification Number (BVN).

He said he will not succumb to any blackmail until the right thing is done.

Mohammed spoke on Saturday night in Bauchi when he hosted members of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Minister’s Press Corps who were in the state for their annual retreat.

He said: “Just last week, we discovered that some of our civil servants are ghost workers. The Federal Government has said that everybody must have a BVN.

“But 41, 000 out of 101, 000 civil servants in Bauchi State do not have BVN and they have been collecting salaries under the last administration. A lot of compromise happened.

“Those who have BVN have been getting alerts, but the rest of the civil servants must be investigated. It is good to note that the government has not employed any graduate in the last four years. Yet our salaries are increasing. And some mischievous people are complaining about my discoveries.

“Some of the ghost workers we suspect are conniving with our education secretaries in the local governments and health directors. As a civil servant, I am just suspending them to find out what happened. And if I find out that they are not compromising, I will be just and equitable to them. If otherwise, the civil service rules will apply to them, so that nobody will do it again.”

Source;The Nation