[size=14pt]N300m fraud: Lagos moves account staff to classroom[/size]
By Sesan Olufowobi
Friday, 7 Oct 2011


The Lagos State Government may have decided to redeploy some of the workers in its education district offices to the classroom following the N300m fraud uncovered in one of the districts.


Some teachers were posted from the classroom to the districts after it was set up by the Tinubu administration.


Babatunde Raji Fashola

Although the fraud happened in District Four, our correspondent learnt that the movement might affect all the six districts. Sources said the action of the state government was to forestall a recurrence in other districts.


It was learnt that the state govenment believed that the fraud went on for 10 months because the majority of the workers, who are school teachers, were not trained in accounting.


The government also believes that some of the workers could have aided the fraudsters to perpetuate the crime.


The source said, “We know that they have charged those who they could arrested to the court and have been remanded in prison.”


The source said the two accountants and the administration officer involved in the crime must have compromised by the operators of Oracle, a computer programme installed for the payment of salaries in the state and to detect fraud.


“What they did was to build extra names into the programme and once the salaries of the teachers have been paid, they would collect the money. Those caught could not have been the only ones involved in the scam. I expect that investigation is still going on,” he said.


Although she confirmed the arrest and prosecution of those involved in the fraud, the state Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye, through a text message, told our correspondent on Thursday that she had no knowledge of any redeployment in her ministry.


“I am not aware of this please,” she said.


Also, the Special Adviser Information and Strategy, Dr. Lateef Raji, said the state was not doing such thing.


He said, “This fraud was discovered about four months ago. The Head of Service headed a panel that was formed to investigate the fraud. We have made arrest and charged suspects to court. It was a long time ago. Not a recent thing.”

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art2011100711264732

Don't they have numbers that identifies every employee in the school district?. How can someone possibly float fictitious names and the state's bursar didn't notice?

Why are you rolling eyes? No be your country?

It will been buried under the carpet in PDP controlled states