The Yobe State government has taken a firm stance against ghost workers by verifying the data of 20,763 civil servants out of the 30,862 employees in the state.
This disclosure was made by the State’s Head of Service, Hamidu M. Alhaji, during a recent monitoring of the ongoing data-capturing exercise in Damaturu.
According to Alhaji, 10,099 workers’ data remain unverified due to the failure of various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to submit their employee files.
While expressing concern over this delay, he assured that the state’s commitment to maintaining an accurate personnel database remains a priority, to eradicate ghost workers from the payroll.
“The verification process is critical in ensuring the integrity of the state’s workforce, and we will continue our efforts to verify all employees,” said Alhaji.
State Commissioner for Finance Muhammad Abatcha Geidam issued a stern warning that the government would withhold salaries for any civil servants who remain unverified following the completion of the exercise.
“We will not tolerate discrepancies in our workforce, and those who fail to comply with the verification process will not be paid,” Geidam emphasized.
The ongoing process is seen as a crucial step in ensuring that public funds are efficiently allocated and to curb payroll fraud in the state’s civil service.