A simmering rift may have ensued between the Taraba State Staff Verification Committee and the Office of the Accountant General following the submission of a report on the state’s payroll reform, a report Governor Agbu Kefas described as “exhaustive, transparent and courageous.”

The verification committee, established in response to concerns over bloated salaries and irregular employment, had earlier disclosed that more than 7,000 names were removed from the state’s payroll during a comprehensive audit of the civil service.

Presenting its findings in Jalingo, the committee chairman, Abdulkadir Haruna, said out of roughly 7,800 workers initially flagged, only 1,410 were cleared after rigorous screening.

Those cleared, he said, should be reinstated immediately and paid their outstanding entitlements.

He added that some higher institutions, including the state university, polytechnic and college of education, are already on holiday.