Enugu State Government has saved about N1.2 billion monthly following a comprehensive verification exercise that eliminated ghost and absentee workers from its payroll.

Secretary to the State Government, Prof Chidiebere Onyia, who disclosed this on Monday at the Annual Solemn Assembly of the Organised Labour, Enugu State Council, held at the state secretariat, Enugu, to spiritually usher workers into the new year, praised the sustained relationship between organised labour and the state government.

He described the Solemn Assembly as a noble tradition that helps workers “start the year with the Lord.”

He attributed the state’s growing fiscal discipline and improved performance to the commitment of civil servants, noting that Enugu generated and mobilised about N400 billion out of a projected N570 billion in internally generated revenue, largely due to workers’ diligence and increased investments in the state.

He said the verification exercise carried out by the administration was deliberate and thorough, aimed at ensuring accountability and efficiency in the civil service.

“We took time to verify our workforce to fish out those who do not come to work and ghost workers. As a result of that exercise, Enugu State is now saving N1.2 billion every month,” he added.

On reforms in the public service, Onyia stated that promotions are now strictly performance-based, ending the old “turn-by-turn” system.

He added that Enugu now boasts one of the best-trained and highest-quality civil services in the country, supported by continuous capacity-building.

Onyia further explained that the state has fully embraced digital governance, eliminating the culture of piled-up files in offices.

“We are now running a digital process. Whoever is travelling must hand over properly, and whatever is done is monitored through our digital systems,” he said, adding that the goal of the administration is to build a civil service that is “happy, productive and satisfied.”

He urged workers and labour leaders to always give feedback to the government on areas requiring improvement, stressing that the administration does not claim to have all the answers.

Also speaking, the Auxiliary Bishop of the Enugu Diocese, Most Rev. Ernest Obodo, lamented the plight of retirees, calling it unjust that workers who contributed to pension schemes end up begging for their entitlements after retirement.

In his speech, Enugu State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Fabian Nwigbo, said the solemn assembly, now in its tenth year, had become an annual ritual for workers to seek divine guidance in partnering with government to deliver on its mandate.

Nwigbo described the Mbah administration as labour-friendly, recalling that when economic hardship deepened nationwide, the governor approved and paid a wage award for one year and later commenced payment of N80,000 as the minimum wage.

He commended the regular payment of pensions and the inclusion of gratuity payments in the state’s 2026 budget, while appealing to the government to increase pensions to reflect current economic realities, noting that some pensioners still go home with as little as N1,000.

The labour leader also called for the implementation of the consequential adjustment arising from the new minimum wage, praising the administration for restoring transparency in promotions.

“Before now, we used to beg for promotions. Today, workers are formally written to and informed of when their promotions are due, and it does not fail,” he said.

Nwigbo expressed gratitude to Governor Mbah for the massive transformation across the state and reaffirmed the commitment of Enugu workers to their duties, expressing confidence that the governor would give due consideration to labour’s demands.