2,300 ghost workers have been found, saving the Abia government N220 million

Following the ongoing verification exercise in the state’s public service, the Abia State Government claims it has saved 220 million naira on monthly wage bills in the state.

After meeting with Governor Alex Otti, the state’s Accountant General, Deaconess Njum Onyemenam, made the declaration on Monday in Umuahia.

The Accountant General noted that the verification exercise was still ongoing, where the state planned to record more savings, and that the significant savings were achieved utilising a consolidated payment system.

“So far, the continuous verification of state employees, local government employees, and pensioners has allowed us to save N220 million.

The Accountant General stated that utilising the single payment system, “at least 2,300 ghost names have been weeded out of the payrolls, and we hope to still identify more as we continue with the exercise.”

She stated that the state government last week paid the arrears of April salary left over by the previous administration as well as June pensions to retirees, as instructed by Governor Otti.

Onyemenam stated that local government employees who were not paid when the paychecks for June were made because they allegedly failed to provide a validated payment plan will now be paid this week.