FG saves N14b in eight months from ghost workers’ pay, say Adeosun

The federal government yesterday announced that it has saved N14 billion from the total pay of workers in eight months.

Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, said between March and October this year, the government ought to have expended N151 billion as salaries, but due to personnel audit it conducted on 33 agencies and parastatals, it found that 30,000 workers were non-existent; hence it ended up paying N137 billion for legitimate workers in the eight months, Adeosun disclosed.

She announced that the government has asked the 33 affected agencies to refund N450 billion to government, which in includes funds misused for other purposes.

Adeosun’s submissions were contained in a paper she presented at the just-concluded three-day national conference on corruption in Abuja organised by House of Representatives Committee on Anti-Corruption, in conjunction with Africa Development Studies Centre (ADSC) to sensitise security agencies and Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) on ways of tackling corruption in the country, titled, ‘Efficiency and Effectiveness as an Anti-corruption Control Tool.’

She was represented by the ministry’s Director of Efficiency Unit, Mrs. Patience Oniha.