Kogi loses N213bn to ghost workers

Kogi State Government has lost N213,036 billion to ghost
workers in 16 years, according to its audit committee.

  Governor Yahaya Bello, who was present yesterday at the committee briefing to stakeholders, lamented the colossal loss recorded by the state through the ghost workers’ syndrome. He insisted that his administration had put a permanent stop to the menace.

He spoke when the Backup Committee jointly led by the state Auditor General, Yusufu Okala and that of the Local Governments, Mallam Usman Ododo, submitted their reports to the Governor at the Stakeholders Forum in Lokoja.

The Governor said the screening was the first layer of civil service reform, which his administration intended to embark on, adding that he was determined to reposition the civil service to play a vital role of facilitator in the economic drive in the state.

However, the governor has set up a review committee to entertain complains that may arise from the screening exercise.

The Auditor General, who presented the reports, said before the screening exercise, the state and Local Governments staff strength stood at 88,973 with a monthly wage bill of N5.8 billion.

He explained that the unintended beneficiaries discovered in the screening were 18,211 ghost workers.