Ghost Workers Discovered on Anambra Payroll, Over 427 Found
As Nigeria continues to suffer as a result of corruption, civil workers also partake of the corruption scheme.
Politicians have been focused on when it comes to criticisms, but in the country, everyone appears to be involved in it.
With inflation biting hard, and the economy declining everyday, Nigerians find it hard to get along.
Minimum wage battle between the government and workers is on the table, disagreement has led to inability to cushion the minimum wage negotiation.
Workers now tend to look for a way to make up for the biting inflation and dwindling economy. Situation of workers in the country is too bad.
In Anambra State, workers and commissioners join hands to make fraudulent lists to get more pay from the government.
The strategy was uncovered by the state, after it disclosed that minimum wage being proposed by workers cannot be met.
In an effort to curb corruption within the state civil service, Anambra State Local Government Service Commission has unearthed a significant payroll fraud, revealing over 427 ghost workers receiving salaries without being employed by the state. This was disclosed by the Commission’s Chairman, Vin Ezeaka, during a press briefing in Awka, the state’s capital.
The audit, aimed at cleansing the local government system, exposed numerous discrepancies, including the presence of 59 deceased employees, 40 retirees, and 11 individuals living abroad still on the payroll. Additionally, 222 individuals could not be identified as employees in any of the state’s 21 local government areas.
Ezeaka highlighted that some senior staff members had forged certificates from Imo State University, with six out of 14 certificates verified being fraudulent. The Commission is determined to complete the investigation and ensure those involved face legal consequences according to civil service rules.
This initiative aligns with Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s mandate to ensure that only genuine workers benefit from the state’s resources. The Commission has also extended a grace period for those with forged certificates to voluntarily report themselves or face termination.
Fraud and corruption eat deep into the bone marrow of the state. Forgery and illegal practices top the chart.
Yet, this is not the first time ghost workers had been found on the payroll of the state. Each government had to deal with new case, with the cartel responsible for inflating employees well rooted in the system.
While blames go the civil servants, the commission itself cannot be absorbed of the fraud because they file the lists.
Speaking on the corruption within the Nigerian civil service, an ex-worker detailed to Dailytab24 what it’s like in the civil service.
“The ghost workers and inflation of number within the civil service commission is something prevalent, it cannot be stopped because it’s well harmonised. The leaders within the commission agree with the workers on percentage if they push the names.
“Sometimes, the leaders are solely responsible for this. They make up ghost lists and take home the pay. Top servants also use connections to push in names to quadruple their pay.
“It’s an organised crime, even if it’s bursted today, it will come back tomorrow. It’s about survival because workers are underpaid”
