*Set To Commence Payment Of Workers’ Salaries
The Benue State Government said it has uncovered about 2,500 ghost workers among staff at the primary, secondary and Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state as well as discovered ghost schools and other unwholesome practices within the systems, adding that it would commence the payment of workers’ salaries within the week.
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The State Government revealed this after concluding the first phase of “an extensive staff verification and payroll audit of teachers and local government staff” in the state.
This is even as the State Governor, Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia has sacked the State Accountant General, Agwaza Iorkpiligh and replaced him with Mrs. Theresa Nyitse.
It was gathered that the Governor had bowed to pressure within the All Progressives Congress (APC) to sack the immediate past Accountant General of the state.
Competent source within the party who would not want his name in print also said that Governor Alia was advised to sack Agwaza so that the former Accountant General would go the way of other office holders in the last administration who were earlier booted out.
In a statement signed by Sir Tersoo Kula,
Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the Governor and made available to newsmen in Makurdi on Thursday said the appointment takes immediate effect.
According to him, “Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia has approved the appointment of Mrs. Theresa Nyitse as Acting Accountant General of the state.
“In a letter signed by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof. Joseph Alakali conveying the appointment, Mrs. Nyitse’s appointment, takes immediate effect.
“Nyitse, before her appointment, was an Accountant in the Central Accounts (department) of the office of Accountant General.”
Meanwhile, the State Government which said it has uncovered 2,500 ghost workers in the first phase of its exercise to weed out ghost workers from the state civil service, regretted the delay in the payment of salaries of staff of primary, secondary and Local Government staff in the state.
It also noted that the decision to embark on the screening exercise was to unearth ghost workers in the state civil service after it discovered mind boggling padding of workers’ wage bill.
In a statement made available to newsmen by the CPS in Makurdi on Thursday, Kula noted that while government identifies ghost workers, ghost schools, double dipping, unlawful employment, salary padding, payment to dead or retired individuals among other unwholesome practices, it was also putting in place measures to ensure that henceforth, the systems are protected.
He said, “Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia expresses regrets over the delay in payment of salaries of teachers in primary and secondary schools, as well as (that of) Local Government staff.
“The governor says the decision for the delay in the payment of salaries of the above mentioned workers was taken after government discovered mindless padding of the wage bill, and other fraudulent manipulations on their payroll.
“He (Alia) says the decision became necessary after the discovery, to enable government sanitize and cleanse the payroll; to ascertain the true wage bill of the state and to know the genuine workers that are worth their wages.”
Kula also pointed out that “He (Alia) reveals that the first phase of an extensive staff verification and payroll audit for all teachers and local government staff has just been concluded, and it has already uncovered over 2,500 ghost workers that have already been removed from the payroll.
“He identifies ghost workers, ghost schools, double dipping, unlawful employment, salary padding, payment to dead or retired individuals, unlawful replacement, inflation of the wage bill, as some of the payroll infractions discovered from the audit.
“Alia assures that, workers who were successfully screened will receive their salaries before the end of this week, noting that government is not only fishing out ghosts workers and removing the padding associated with payroll fraud, but also putting in measures to ensure the systems are protected going forward”, he stated. End.
