Ghost Workers: 1,832 Plateau Teachers' Salaries Siphoned by One Person


By Masara Kim,

Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State says his administration has uncovered a salary leakage where one person believed to be a ghost worker claims the salaries of 1832 teachers in the state.

Addressing a media parley at the Government House in Jos, Lalong said search is still on to uncover all ghost workers milking the state's resources.

"One person had the salary of 1832 teachers.

"Yet we are looking for teachers while one person is taking their salary already and maybe that person is not even a teacher," he said.

Lalong revealed that as a result of the activities of ghost workers who could not be rid during previous verification exercises, the state has not been able to ascertain its actual wage bill.

"We have carried out several verification exercises and they keep telling us there are no ghost workers.

"It's even God that helped us that this N5bn (salary bail out balance from FG) did not come, otherwise they would have paid and there would be no ghost workers.

"On my own I have said that this N5bn will not be paid until I know the actual wage bill of my state so we have done that together with the verification and are now into Bank Verification Number (BVN) reconcilliation.

"It is my believe that at the end of the exercise, a concrete report will be produced," the governor stated.

He however declined making the names of those already identified to be ghost workers public saying, "We will not expose them because some people are running.

"Even the salary they said they were supposed to collect, they are nolonger coming to collect them."

To this end, enough funds are available to commence salary payments after the BVN harmonization, Lalong disclosed.

"The salaries are there and we are saying if you are bold enough; if you are not a ghost worker, go and collect the salary.

"They (ghost workers) know that as they go there to collect the salary, they are going for prosecution," the governor stressed.

Plateau State has had records of salary failure since the start of democratic rule, with ghost workers mostly blamed for the glitches.

The past administration of Jonah Jang conducted series of verification exercises with a view to identifying and ridding ghost workers but could not achieve much as different exercises produced varying results as to the size of the civil service in the state.

The present administration is however hopeful that such would be dealt with towards clearing the salaries of civil servants that have lingered since January 2016.

-The Light Bearer Newspaper-

I dey come

Meehn! Why naija selfish rich like this naa? Why? And why again?

ok

Chissos!!!

Nigerians, we are all Greedy. Tho some are more greedy than others