ABSTRACT

Ghost worker syndrome, a means through which huge sums of money are siphoned from public treasury, has become an age-long problem that seems intractable in Nigeria and other developing countries. Some measures like privatization, commercialization, even retrenchment have been adopted to tackle this hydra-headed monster, all to no avail.
This study has come up with a solution: Accounting Systems with an in-built control mechanism to prelude and detect fraud. Chi-Square value was computed and compared it with X0.05. Since X2 cal was greater than X0.05, the postulation that the association is due to chance is rejected. This implies that Accounting Systems can be used to solve the Ghost Worker Syndrome. This also shows that an in-built control system which makes Madonna University free from ghost worker can be replicated elsewhere. With the in-built control system in use, the bloated wage bill can be reduced to acceptable levels: below 40%. By this, Governments can take care of other sectors of the economy – Capital projects like Road Construction, Agriculture, Industries, etc. that can help to accelerate economic growth and development. In the light of the immediate foregoing, therefore, it is the special contribution of this study to make a major input towards the eradication of the Ghost Worker syndrome in Nigeria, so that the huge sums of money expended on wage bills by various governments can be reduced to the barest minimum. When this is achieved, governments can access enough money to embark on life transformation projects. Because the wage bill of Enugu State was reduced to about 40 – 43%, Governor Sullivan Chime was able to impress many people as he was doing at the time this study was being conducted. Through this medium, a wage bill of below 40% is advocated. The only conditions needed to accomplish the above are Transparency and Accountability.