Ondo suspends, arrests 25 workers over fraud, diversion of salaries

No fewer than 25 civil servants in the employment of the Ondo State government have been suspended over millions of Naira fraud in their ministry.

Apart from the fraud, the suspected workers were said to have inflated workers in the government payroll, diverting the salaries into their private pocket.

He said some of their offences also include, stealing millions of naira, employment racketeering and including fictitious names in the payroll of the state government.

Speaking during the parade of the suspects, the Senior Special Assistant to the governor on Special Duties, Mr Doyin Odebowale, disclosed that the suspected workers were nabbed due to the reforms carried out by the State Head of Service, Mr Dare Aragbaye.

He explained that one of the workers imputed his wife name into the state civil service and placed her on grade level 14, paying her salaries without working.

The wife was said not to have attended any interview nor the state government aware of her employment but she was collecting salaries.

A staff of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) was also arrested for allegedly stealing the sum of N104m from the coffers of SUBEB.

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He, however, said the all the suspects would be prosecuted and drag before a court of law.

He said: “We are here because of certain suspects the governor directed that we should prosecute. In the civil service, there has been this stealing going on undetected. They do it in several ways, especially through the staff list.

“We have people that imputed fictitious figures into the payroll. When the new Head of Service got into office, he put in place certain reforms to make us know those in actual service.

“We were able to discover that certain elements whose names appear on the staff list were never employed.

“A particular man employed his wife and placed her on level 14. She never attended the interview and she has been collecting salaries.

“One of them moved N104 million out of SUBEB account. We have other instances of other millions of naira moved by these workers.

“These were pure stealing. They have been suspended. They will be prosecuted and made to face disciplinary measures.”

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE