Bauchi removes 715 ghost workers from payroll

No fewer than 715 ghost workers have been discovered in the services of Bauchi State government, the deputy governor, Senator Baba Tela has revealed.

The deputy governor who heads a verification committee, set up last month by Governor Bala Mohammed to fish out ghost workers in the state payroll, expressed regret that most of the problems associated with payment of salaries were created by the immediate past administration.

“We inherited a system that has gone beyond the capacity of the immediate past government to solve, but most of the problems are created by those that are in that government,” deputy governor stated.

Tela while addressing the press on the outcome of his committee’s report Monday, said due to the dwindling revenues accruable to the state, coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become difficult now to pay the monthly salaries of civil servants, not to talk of undertaking other economic development and social work.

“We are doing what we are doing in terms of development as a result of sheer determination of His Excellency, Governor Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed to ensure that he has left some legacy projects on ground, otherwise it is not possible to get an allocation from the federal government to pay salaries, and execute developmental projects”, he said.

He explained that the problem of salary and pension payment is a cankerworm affecting the level of development in the state.