We didn’t sack but delisted 28,000 ghost workers from payroll ―Bayelsa govt

Governor Seriake Dickson

THE government of Bayelsa State Government has denied rumours that it sacked 28,000 workers from the state civil service, saying it rather delisted 28,000 ghost workers from its payroll.

The state commissioner for labour and employment, Chief Collins Cocodia, said if the stories were true the organized labour would have been at loggerheads with the government.

Cocodia stated this during the public service reforms townhall meeting with civil servants, traditional rulers, women and youth groups at Oporoma, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.

He further explained that the rot in the state civil service that gave room for payroll fraud is as a result of the bad leadership style of the of the immediate past administration.

“Where are the 28,000 workers we sacked? If the story was the truth, we would have been having problems with the organized labour in the state.

“The alleged 28,000 workers are ghost workers the leader of the APC in the state planted in the state civil service.

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“We have identified them and we have delisted them from our payroll to create room for our young graduates to be employed into the civil service,” he added.

Also speaking, the state commissioner for information, Iworiso Markson said the rot in the state civil service is so deep-rooted that government recently discovered that 100 persons employed into the civil service to carry canopies during government functions.

He further stated that the reform also uncovered the names of 48 deceased persons in the payment voucher of Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

He said, “we have identified all these anomalies, we have put a stop to them and we would ensure that the outcome of the reforms is fully implemented.”

He called on community folks to support the state civil service reform and volunteer as whistleblowers to help clean up the payroll of the state civil service.