By Tayo Alabi
Ghost pensioners have been reportedly paid over N700 million within one year in Bauchi state.
A financial consulting firm, DYNATECH Solutions Limited, contracted by the Bauchi State Government to sanitise its payroll and nominal roll made the revelation on Thursday.
Indeed, the alleged fraud was unveiled at the ongoing stakeholders and media parley to proffer solution to discrepancies and delay in payment of nominal and payroll workers in the state, The Guardian reported.
While addressing the government, DYNATECH said the sum of N744,000,000 has been siphoned out of the state treasury.
“Some of these pensioners are not the beneficiaries of the money. There are inexistence accounts of inexistence banks. One of the pensioners was supposed to be paid N34,000 but received over N1,500,000. Another one who was supposed to be paid N50,000 but got over one million. All these accumulated to over N700million.”
Governor Bala Mohammed, while making his remarks said there are about “100 doctors who are not working or may not be in the State but are being paid every month. Surrendering this fight is equal to mortgaging the future of our State.”
He announced that he has received many petitions that some unscrupulous individuals were collecting N250,000 to illegally employ and inflate the state payroll.
He said, “I won’t spare the local government pension officers, they are responsible for these.”
Mohammed expressed sadness over the bottleneck being faced by the workers and the senior citizens of the state.
He, however, insists that resources of the state should be freed to pave way for the employment of fresh graduates after a decade of no engagement into civil service.
The Head of Service, Ma’aji Abubakar, acknowledged the fraud in the civil service.
He said there is one Abba Tijjani who was found to have been collecting between N100,000 to N250,000 to offer illegal jobs at the Ministry of Works and Transport.
He added that the suspect confessed to collecting over N2million.
Abubakar said that the DYNATECH’s revelation was embarrassing, saying that some workers were found on local, state and federal governments payroll.
He however promised to intensify the fight to sanitise the civil service.
