Enugu recovers N21m from ghost teachers in 3 months
*Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State
(Nigeria) Enugu State Government has made another
breakthrough in its on-going efforts to rid the state public service of ghost
workers, recovering in the latest exercise, N21million from ghost teachers in
its Post-Primary School Board, PPSMB, within three months.
However, on a positive note, the state government has
decided to offer automatic employment to 50 physically-challenged indigenes of
the state in order to give them a new lease of life.
The government, during the state executive council meeting
held last weekend and presided over by Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, took a hard
look at the latest development in this corruption war and mooted a further
inquisition that would identify possible members of the syndicate behind the
scam.
State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Ogbuagu Anikwe, who
disclosed the development while briefing newsmen on the outcome of the State
Executive Council Meeting further informed that it was the chairman of the
PPSMB, Nestor Ezeme, who offered information on the ghost teachers while
briefing the council.
Mr. Anikwe said the council regretted the fraud which took
place at the PPSMB just within three months during which the board embarked on
a special check by paying salaries directly to each of its staff who were made
to personally collect cheques in respect of their monthly wages.
According to the commissioner, “the chairman of PPSMB has been pleading with EXCO to allow him pay
staff salaries by hand and the EXCO approved that he does so, and for the first
month after the salary payment, N7 million was left without anybody coming to
claim the amount and for three months, N21 million was recovered in the process
which means that ghost workers exist at PPSMB”.
He said that Governor Ugwuanyi was not pleased with the
development, regretting that “While the state government was striving to fulfil
its side of the obligation through regular and prompt payment of workers’
salaries, some staff are busy siphoning government money through ghost-workers
syndrome.”
The commissioner stated that the state government is
considering some severe sanctions against anybody found to been involved in
this fraud.
In an earlier exercise, the government had discovered no
fewer than 2,000 ghost workers in the local government system, including the
primary schools.
On the coming succour to some physically-challenged persons,
he stated that Governor Ugwuanyi’s administration in its desire to give equal
opportunities to all the people of the state, has responded to a petition
presented to EXCO by some visually-impaired individuals by deciding to offer
automatic employment to 50 physically-challenged indigenes of the state.
He explained that Enugu State as a signatory to the United
Nations Charter has decided in line with that charter which provides for equal
opportunity to everybody, irrespective of their physical status, to employ the
50 persons at the first instance, who will be engaged according to their
discipline.
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