Kogi State Has Lost N213bn To Ghost Workers In The Last 16 Years

The Kogi State Auditor General, Alhaji Yusufu Okala, has said that the state lost roughly N213,034,857,280.44, to a category of persons he called “Ghost Workers/Unintended Beneficiaries” in the last 16 years.The Auditor stated this when the Staff Screening and Validation Committee, jointly led by himself and the Auditor General of the Local Governments Areas, Mallam Usman Ahmed Ododo, submitted their reports to the State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, at a Stakeholders Forum held in Government House, Lokoja, yesterday.The committee was set up by the Governor with the mandate to review and authenticate the report earlier submitted by the Staff Screening and Verification Committee under the Chairmanship of Dr. Jerry Agbaji.According to Alhaji Okala, “As at the time of inaugurating the Staff Screening and Verification Committee on February 22, 2016, the total staff on the nominal payrollof the State (State MDAs and Local Governments) was 88, 973 with monthly wage bill of N 5,809,578,703.72. However, after the conclusion of this exercise on July 24, 2016, the cleared and validated workforce is 63, 870.”