The Zamfara State government has expressed concern over the alarming number of ghost workers within its Civil Service, particularly in the health and education sectors.
The State Head of Service, Barrister Ahmad Liman, revealed that the exact number of civil servants in the state remains unknown due to the prevalence of non-existent employees on the payroll.
Addressing journalists in Gusau, Liman described the situation as “worrisome” and “perplexing,” emphasizing that the ghost worker problem has become a serious drain on public resources.
A verification exercise to identify and remove these fictitious workers is currently underway, but the scale of the issue suggests that much work remains to be done.
“In a particular hospital, there were 22 health workers receiving salaries, but the verification revealed that only two health workers are genuine,” the HoS lamented.
The government official explained that the verification exercise will be concluded at the end of November 2024, after which a committee on salary will be constituted.
The HoS, who is also the Chairman, Steering Committee on Verification Exercise, pointed out that the present administration in the state inherited some unsolved issues from the past government.
“It was discovered that the implementation of the 2019 minimum wage of N30,000 was faulty.
“As soon as the verification and salary committees submit their reports, the state government will implement the new minimum wage of N70,000.
“We cannot implement new minimum wage without knowing the number of civil servants in the state,” the HoS said.
