Workers on double pay face lawsuits, says Benue

The Benue state government has said it will drag senior officials singled out for the double degree and multiple salaries to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for further investigation and prosecution.

Governor Hyacinth Alia's chief press secretary, Kula Tersoo, said this on Friday when he received members of the State Correspondents' Chapel, headed by its chairman, Emmanuel Antswen, in his office.

The state government revealed on Thursday that the personnel audit it conducted found about 2,500 ghost workers, noting that there were ghost schools, incidents of double dipping, illegal employment, wage increases, payments to deceased and retired people, among other violations in the state.

Tersoo, who said accountability and transparency remained a hallmark of the current administration, noted that people should not be surprised when anti-corruption agencies began inviting senior officials for questioning.

He said that during the first phase of the personnel audit, it was discovered that many senior officials received salaries from three different places; state government, local government and the Universal Basic Education Board.

He added: "We already know of some of them and they have been removed from the entire payroll. We are waiting for them to report that they have not been paid and it would be themselves. Those who received double pay as senior staff will be handed over to the EFCC for investigation and possible prosecution."

Tersoo said he was optimistic that the current exercise would expose more people behind racketeering in public office and that the perpetrators would be held to account for their crimes.

Meanwhile, the governor said the state saved N1.2 billion on its monthly payroll through the personnel audit exercise.

S'exprimant vendredi soir lors d'une réunion extraordinaire des parties prenantes du All Progressives Congress, dans l'État, Alia a déclaré : "Après la première phase de l'enquête médico-légale, pour ceux qui se trouvent dans les salles de classe et le gouvernement local, nous avons découvert plus de 2 500 travailleurs et écoles fantômes et les avons supprimés. Grâce à cela, le gouvernement a économisé 1,2 milliard de nairas.

"So what was going to ghost schools and ghost workers which was N1.6 billion, the government reduced it to N800 million.

The governor said teachers whose salaries were delayed by two months as a result of the audit have started receiving credit alerts.

The governor who deplored the ruthless plunder in government said the committee will continue its functions until all those who traffic the state are identified and forced to return what they have taken from the government.

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