Federal Govt. loses N1bn to 37,395 Ghost Workers...

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, said yesterday that the Federal Government had uncovered 37,395 ghost workers on the payroll of the Federal Civil Service, which led to a loss of about N1 billion. EFCC’s acting Chairman, Ibrahim Magu, made the disclosure during an anti-corruption sensitisation programme organised for staff of works and housing sectors.

Magu said apart from the widespread procurement frauds in Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, the issue of ghost workers was a source of serious concern to the commission.

He said: “EFCC has uncovered 37,395 ghost workers in the Federal Civil Service and investigation is still going on. Our investigations have so far revealed that the Federal Government has lost close to N1 billion to these ghost workers.

“The figure will definitely increase as we unravel more ghost workers buried deep in Federal Civil Service payrolls.”

He also explained that the commission had established a Procurement Fraud Unit to handle the increasing number of petitions relating to violations of the Public Procurement Laws. He, therefore, advised civil servants to avoid any act that was in breach of public procurement procedures, warning that violators risked imprisonment and dismissal from service. Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary (Works and Housing), Abubakar Magaji, said as drivers of government policies, MDAs should be in the forefront of compliance with public service laws and regulations.

He said the works and housing sectors had resolved to regularly organize interactive sessions to re-orientate officers on the importance of compliance with extant laws, regulations and guidelines.