Screening uncovers 9,000 ghost workers in Kogi

Over 9,000 workers on the Kogi State payroll were found to be ghost workers according to the interim report of the just concluded workers’ screening.

During the course of the screening, those affected deliberately failed to appear for the exercise that would have confirmed their status.

The Chairman of the screening committee Mr. Henry Agbaje, who disclosed this during a critical stakeholders meeting in Lokoja yesterday, said aside pensioners, a total of 9,720 persons across the state did not show up for the screening exercise.

He pointed out that their deliberate action in refusing to turn up for the screening had helped the committee as that figure reduced the workforce even before the screening commenced.

The Chairman lamented that some workers had issues ranging from forged certificates, lack of Bank Verification Number (BVN), no statement of bank account while some worked in another state but drew salaries either in the state or at the local government council of the state.
He pointed out that in the course of discharging their assignment over 81,000 staff and pensioners in both state and Local Government Area were screened.

Agbaje hinted that a total of 25,208 forms were issued across the 21 LGAs of the state, adding that 22,272 presented themselves for the screening while 2,936 who claimed to be workers failed to appear.

He also disclosed that the 25,662 primary school teachers were issued the screening forms however 22,608 actually submitted themselves for the exercise, concluding that the 3,054 teachers who did not show up must have been ghost workers.

He pointed out that some anomalies discovered during the course of the screening clearly show that there were elements that stood firm to sabotage the effort of the government.

The Auditor General in charge of Local Government, Alhaji Ahmed Ododo, while presenting an interim finding of the back up committee saddled with the responsibility of checkmating the activities of the screening committee revealed that over 40 untreated forms were included on the screened list.
Ododo indicated that the back up committee findings as revealed at the meeting was just a tip of an iceberg in the many shoddy engagements.

According to him, “In College of Education Ankpa it was observed that one Mr. Orogun David was cleared to continue serving the state even when he had worked for 39 years.’’

“Also in Kogi State University (KSU) there was a case of double employment where a man identified as Dr. Alabi David Oladele had two forms duly filled and signed for which he was cleared.

“He was discovered to be a staff of KSU and also a staff of Kogi State University Teaching Hospital drawing salaries amounting to N560, 000 each from the two appointments.”

Ododo also disclosed that the Kogi State Polytechnic staff strength was over bloated with 1200 staff.

He appealed to Governor Yahaya Bello to delegate a team to the institution to identify 1200 tables and chairs of the same figure.