Five thousand ghost workers have been uncovered by the Borno State government, it was learnt yesterday.
Governor Kashim Shettima, who addressed a news conference yesterday, however said only 11,735 workers verified, of 19,700 workers, will be paid two months’ salaries.
“We are paying 11,735 workers, who successfully completed their biometric verification, as part of our plans to sanitise the civil service and checkmate fraudulent acts,” Shettima explained.
He noted that the verification helped the government to save more than N1.3 billion monthly.
But Chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Titus Abana called on the government to consider the hardship of the workers.
Mr. Abana appealed that those workers, who have not been verified, should also be paid, saying the peculiarity of Maiduguri in terms of security, made the exercise difficult for workers.
He noted that the government’s decision would compound their hardship, since many of them were displaced.
