FG uncovers fresh 5,000 ghost workers, says Osinbajo

An additional 5,000 ghost workers have been uncovered in the ongoing audit of workers in the Federal Civil Service, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said, yesterday.This is besides about 35,000 ghost workers earlier unearthed, following full implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy by the federal government.

Osinbajo, who was represented by Aso Rock Chaplain, Seyi Malomo, made the disclosure at the 80th Tabieorar festival of the Church of the Lord Prayer Fellowship Worldwide, at Ogere Remo, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

He regretted that salaries collected by ghost workers on a monthly basis ran into billions of naira that could have been used for the public good.The Vice President said that despite inheriting a bruised economy, the present administration had begun moves to tackle the challenges and return the country to a glorious path.

He said what the Presidency had done was re-laying the foundation to take Nigeria back to glory. He stressed that government was diversifying the economy with a focus on agriculture. This, he noted, would address unemployment among youths.

He added: “We are gradually diversifying the economy by exploring alternative revenue options, particularly in the solid and natural mineral sector of the economy. Recently, we untied the legal knot that has kept a major economic sector comatose for years. As a result, we should see results from the resuscitation of the Nigerian Iron Mining Company, Itakpe, and Ajaokuta Steel in Kogi,” he said.

He appealed to Nigerians to endure the current economic hardship, promising things would get better soon.