The Kano State government says it has uncovered cases of double payments and ghost workers following a biometric verification and audit of its civil service payroll.
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Dr. Sulaiman Wali Sani, Special Adviser to Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf on Civil Service Matters, disclosed the findings to newsmen on Sunday. He revealed that 240 workers were receiving salaries twice, while 217 others were linked to duplicate Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs).
Wali Sani said the discovery was part of efforts by the Yusuf administration to sanitize the civil service and fulfill campaign promises centered on accountability and transparency. He noted that the findings pointed to possible cases of ghost workers and manipulation of staff identities.
He further disclosed that 1,335 employees failed to appear for the verification exercise despite repeated announcements over six months, raising doubts about their employment status.
In a related development, Chairman of the Local Government Standing Committee, Alhaji Umar Idi, said an audit of local government and primary healthcare payrolls uncovered 247 suspicious names. Only eight workers showed up to verify their status, while 239 names have been slated for removal, a move expected to save the government about N27.8 million monthly.
The state government said the verification exercise would continue until the payroll system is fully cleaned up.
