2000 suspected ghost workers uncovered in C’River

More than 2,000 suspected ghost workers and fraudulent payroll records have been uncovered by the Cross River State government in an ongoing verification exercise aimed at sanitising the local government payroll system.

The government said the audit exposed widespread irregularities, including invalid Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs), duplicate records and cases where a single BVN was allegedly used to receive salaries meant for multiple workers, particularly in the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).

The Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, Chief Victor-Felix Idem, disclosed this during an interactive session with labour leaders and journalists in Calabar, convened following recent protests by members of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) over salary-related issues.

Idem stated that the discovery underscores the need for a comprehensive payroll cleanup to protect public funds and ensure that only legitimate employees receive government salaries.

He said the highest concentration of the suspected ghost workers and questionable records was found in the payroll structure of SUBEB, where thousands of entries are currently undergoing scrutiny.

The commissioner also dismissed allegations that teachers were being paid half salaries, insisting that the ministry of local government affairs does not disburse salaries but only uploads payroll data for processing by the local government areas.

“This ministry does not pay salaries. Anyone alleging half-salary payments should provide names, pay slips and other evidence so that the matter can be investigated,” he said.

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Idem assured workers whose salaries were suspended due to BVN discrepancies that they will be restored to the payroll once they presented authentic BVNs obtained directly from their banks.

Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Cross River State branch, Comrade Greg Olayi, acknowledged the government’s effort to eliminate payroll fraud but maintained that some genuine teachers who completed the verification process were yet to have their salary issues resolved.

President of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Cross River State chapter, Comrade Leko Otabe, backed the payroll verification exercise, describing it as necessary to eliminate ghost workers and other payroll irregularities that had persisted over the years.

Otabe urged the government to maintain regular engagement with labour unions to ensure legitimate workers are not adversely affected during the exercise.

On the issue of promotions, the Auditor-General for Local Government, Elder Bassey Abam Eko, said the temporary suspension of some promotion implementations was intended to reconcile records, determine the financial implications and prevent abuse of the process.