70,000 Ghost Workers Uncovered By FG

The minister of Finance, Hajiya Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed has said that about 70,000 ghost workers were recently discovered in the federal civil service.

Shamsuna Ahmed made the disclosure yesterday in Kano shortly after she declared the 2020 Management Retreat held for Treasury Directors of Finance, Accountants, and Directors Internal Audit.

She said that government is fully committed to eliminating ghost workers in the system through the IPPIS using biometrics. She added that government is currently working with the office of the Head of Service to link up the IPPIS HR management module with the payroll itself. She said this would help to better maximise the efficiency of the system.

“I know that we have up to 70,000 ghost workers that have been identified in this process and we hope that we will come to a time when we will say that we have no ghost workers. I must say that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has shown the highest level of commitment to Public Financial Management. The GIMPI system is now fully implemented, we are maximizing the implementation of the IPPIS. The President has launched the treasury portal last December 2019, so we haven’t had as much support in the treasury from the presidency as much as we have had under President Muhammadu Buhari. This is because of his commitment to transparency and accountability and due process.”

She said that it is unfortunate that most reforms faced resistance. “We have had resistance from ASUU on the implementation of the IPPIS and I am happy to report that at least up to 55 percent of ASUU members are registered. “