EFCC uncovers 37,395 ghost workers on FG payroll

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission said in Abuja on Tuesday that it had detected 37,395 ghost workers on the payroll of the federal civil service.

The News Agency of Nigeria reported that the Acting Chairman of INEC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, announced the figure at an anti-corruption sensitisation programme.

Magu said that apart from the widespread procurement frauds in Ministries, Departments and Agencies, the issue of ghost workers was a source of serious concern for the commission.

He said that current investigations by the EFCC had revealed that the Federal Government lost about N1bn to ghost workers recently.

“The EFCC has uncovered 37,395 ghost workers in the federal civil service. And investigation is still going on.

“Our investigations have so far revealed that the Federal Government has lost close to N1bn to theseghost workers.

“The figure will definitely increase as we unravel more ghost workers buried deep in the federal civil service payrolls,” he said.

Magu also said that the commission had established a procurement fraud unit to handle the increasing number of petitions relating to violations of the public procurement laws.

He advised civil servants to avoid any acts in breach of public procurement, warning that violators risked terms of imprisonment and dismissal from service.

Punch NG