Anambra Local Govt Service Commission set to publish names of ghost workers
…As 59 dead persons, 40 retirees receive salaries
By Raymond Ozoji
The Anambra State Local Government Service Commission says it is set to publish names of ghost workers receiving salaries and other benefits without working for it.
The Commission also says it will clamp down on those whose names still appear in the state government payroll but either live abroad or simultaneously working in other establishments and receiving double salaries as evident in some local government staff working at Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka and Nwafor Orizu College of Education Nsugbe respectively.
It says those with forged and counterfeit certificates will not be spared as the Commission is poised to rid the local government system of bad eggs and instil a culture of discipline and diligence rather than a culture of impunity ravaging the system.
Speaking exclusively with our correspondent in his office at the Government House Awka, Chairman of the Commission, Barr. Vin Ifeanyi Ezeaka said he inherited ghost workers’ files from the former chairman upon assumption of office containing submission of a report on the harmonised list of ghost workers in the 21 local government councils of Anambra State.
Ezeaka who mentioned that the former chairman may not have been able to execute his findings for fear of intimidations by the culprits, maintained that his sins were because he is now implementing it and asking the ghost workers to go and rest in peace, adding that nobody had the temerity to open the ghost workers’ file except him.
Ezeaka stated that he would urge his board members to paste the names of ghost workers in all the 21 local government areas of the state for one week observation and thereafter affected persons would be dismissed from service because according to him, they have enjoyed free money without working.
Ezeaka, who disclosed that the ghost workers were in batches, maintained that the first batch were 210 ghost workers while the second batch were 128 ghost workers and all of them would be laid off completely.
He said the leadership of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) in Anambra State cooperated with the Commission and supplied names of Anambra Local Government Staff working and receiving salaries in Aba Abia State whilst still in the employ of the Anambra State Government.
According to him, the assistance from Anambra NULGE helped the Commission to dig deeper to discover more rot in the local government system.
According to him, “The Commission discovered 40 retired staff still on payroll as at April this year while 59 dead staff still received salaries as at January, 2024, adding that nobody has contested the list since it was released.”
The Chairman also disclosed that the Commission found out that two local government staff were employees of two different establishments with salaries.
Again, Ezeaka maintained that the Commission is moving ahead to trace the accounts into which the deceased workers, retired staff and other ghost workers salaries were paid into to identify those collecting the monies ever since and recover them for the state government and possibly in the next one month, formally dismiss the ghost workers so that they don’t come back to retire and start getting pensions from government.
The Commission’s boss who stated that sponsored online propaganda claimed that about 5 Deputy Directors were dismissed without due diligence, said the culprits claimed to possess Imo State University Certificates which he personally went to the school to verify only to find out that such certificates does not exist in the university.
He said the Commission still has about 100 level 15 officers (Deputy Directors ) with questionable certificates to investigate as well as verify their authenticity. That the claim by sponsors of negative media propaganda against him that he is blackmailing local government workers is false because he is only doing his job as a personnel administrator.
He equally noted that the Commission is currently verifying from level 14 down to level 1 for fake certificates, forged date of birth and other offences, adding that the Commission wrote to all the 21 Local Government Areas in the state asking those who willingly wish to volunteer and confess their sins to come to the Commission and do that as the Commission will keep their secrets but discipline them accordingly.
Ezeaka emphasised that Anambra NULGE keyed into it on the condition that it will champion the voluntary surrender and on 19th June this year, NULGE handed over a list of 44 workers who surrendered themselves for having fake OND, fake BSC, fake NECO, fake First School Leaving Certificates, fake WAEC, fake Date of Birth and fake NCE respectively.
