23,000 Ghost Workers Discovered By FG

The Federal Government on Thursday confirmed that a panel probing the payment of multiple ‎salaries unravelled 23,000 ghost workers in the Federal Civil Service.

It said the perpetrators of the fraud would be handed over to Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, made this known when she appeared before a Senate Committee.Adeosun said the crime was committed in connivance with some banks.

Adeosun said banks that connived with the workers to pad the Federal Government payroll are going to be prosecuted too.She said: “We will not only sack them, we will ensure the recovery of the money they have been collecting over the years from the Federal Government.”

S‎he said the panel was able to uncover the ghost workers due to introduction of the Bank Verification Number following ‎the failure of the Integrated Payroll Personnel Information System to effectively deal with the issue of ghost workers in the Federal Civil Service, adding that investigation was still ongoing and it will be concluded in a month’s time.

The Minister explained that IPPIS was‎ able to register only 295,000 in five years to deal with the issue of ghost workers but with the advent of the BVN, over 320,000 have been registered within three months