The Akwa Ibom Government has said that it had uncovered 1,458 cases of Bank Verification Number (BVN) related frauds involving civil servants and pensioners in the public service.
Speaking at a Press briefing in Uyo, the Commissioner for Finance, Mr Akan Okon, said the present administration had done a lot to reposition public servant’s payroll system for efficiency and effectiveness, adding that BVN was one of the mechanisms deployed to checkmate activities of “ghost workers” and pensioners, particularly in the public service.
He said “the Akwa Ibom State Government has detected cases where one BVN is tied to more than one person. This is worrisome and it may imply multiple salary and pension collections.”
Okon stressed the need for public servants to take ownership of the payroll system to ensure it was not opened to fraud and leakages. He also charged the Committee to see the assignment as a clarion call to the service of the state.
According to reports, the BVN Verification Committee is headed by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Mrs Eme-ete Imuk.
Other members of the Committee are Mrs Eno Offiong, the Permanent Secretary, Office of the Head of Service and Mrs Stella Etukakpan, the Permanent Secretary, Department of Establishment, while Mr Sunday Udioko, the Assistant Director, Computer Centre, Ministry of Finance, would serve as Secretary.
The Committee has one month to complete the authentication exercise and also make recommendations to the state government.
