Bayelsa Unveils 5, 000 Ghost Workers

The Bayelsa State Government on Saturday said it had uncovered 5,000 ghost workers from its payroll.

This was disclosed by the Chief Accountant, the office of Special Adviser, Bayelsa Treasury, Account and Revenue, Dr David Ala-Peter, after a staff verification exercise, where more than 50,000 workers participated.

Ala-Peter said, “The panel has done well during the exercise. We use software of international standard; we use oracle software. The method used was very effective. We have established staff database; we captured both their fingerprints, dates of birth and their credentials.

“During the exercise, we verified more than 50,000 staff. Right now, we are operating with little above 45,000 workers. Right now in the state, names in the payroll cannot be duplicated as your fingerprint is only identical to you.”

He said the exercise had reduced the state’s wage bill, adding, “but I may not be able to ascertain the correct figure.”