Ghost Worker Crackdown: Anambra Discovers Salaries Paid To Dead And Retired Employees

Ghost Worker Crackdown: Anambra Discovers Salaries Paid To Dead And Retired EmployeesThe Anambra State Local Government Service Commission has uncovered that over 300 ghost workers have been illegally drawing salaries from various local governments across the state.

Commission Chairman, Mr. Vincent Ezeaka, disclosed this information to DAILY POST during an interview on Friday in his office.

Ezeaka, who has recently faced criticism from local government employees accusing him of undue victimization, clarified his actions by stating that he was merely fulfilling his duties. Some have suggested that he is trying to ease the financial burden on Governor Chukwuma Soludo by removing numerous people from the payroll.

In response to these accusations, Ezeaka, a legal practitioner, stated, “I am just doing my job. It wouldn’t be surprising if someone accused me of trying to impress Governor Soludo, as my primary objective is to perform my duties satisfactorily.”

Ezeaka explained further, “The governor tasked us with eliminating ghost workers from the local government system. We implemented a biometric attendance register for five months and analyzed the data from the first three months. We discovered 320 workers across the 21 local governments who had not attended work even once in three months.”

“They had zero attendance and never clocked in or out of the system. We listed their names and informed JAAC to remove them from the payroll. According to civil service rules, one month of zero attendance can lead to dismissal, but we chose to merely suspend their salaries.”

“Some claimed the biometric system was faulty, so we gave them another chance. The intention was not to reduce the wage bill or victimize anyone, but to ensure they showed up for work. Of the 320, only 110 have since proven their employment and had their pay restored, while 220 remain unaccounted for.”

Ezeaka added that despite this effort, the wage bill remained high, prompting a physical audit of workers. “We formed a committee to verify the workers. Personnel heads from all local governments provided their worker lists and duty schedules. We cross-checked these with the salary printout from JAAC.”

“After six weeks, we discovered several discrepancies: some workers had retired, some relocated abroad, others found new jobs, and some had died but were still receiving salaries.”

“We found 59 deceased workers, 40 retirees, and 222 unidentified workers still on the payroll. Some had moved abroad or found more lucrative jobs but continued to receive salaries. For example, a lady who retired from the local government and started working at Nnamdi Azikiwe University was still receiving a local government salary and pension. Another similar case was found at Nwafor Orizu College of Education.”

“We’ve written to these institutions for confirmation, and they’ve acknowledged these individuals as their employees. We also discovered workers who had been absent for years yet continued to receive salaries. One was traced to be living abroad.”

“Some people claim I’m doing this to curry favor from Governor Soludo, and I admit it. The purpose of my appointment is to ensure the governor is pleased with my performance. This has saved the government significant funds, as these individuals would have also claimed retirement benefits and pensions.”

Ezeaka emphasized that his goal is to cleanse the system, and he will continue his efforts to achieve this objective. The salaries of all ghost workers and others identified have been halted.