The Katsina State Government has taken a decisive step to clean up its public service payroll by sacking 3,488 staff following a comprehensive biometric verification exercise. The audit, which targeted 50,172 workers in the 34 Local Government Councils and Local Education Authorities (LEAs), also led to the recovery of ₦4.6 million from salary fraudsters.
Governor Dikko Umaru Radda, who received the report from the verification committee, stated that the exercise was a necessary and long-overdue reform to sanitize the public sector and free up funds for grassroots development. The screening process revealed a wide range of fraudulent activities, including:
- Ghost Workers: Individuals whose names were on the payroll but did not exist or were not working.
- Fake Credentials: Staff who gained employment with falsified certificates.
- Underage Employment: Individuals who were found to be below the legal age for employment.
- Illegal Promotions: Staff who were promoted without due process.
- Subletting Positions: Cases where a staff member’s position was sublet to another person.
- Double Salaries: Individuals who were collecting salaries from more than one government agency.
- Absenteeism: Employees who were collecting salaries while on leave of absence or had absconded from their duties.
The committee’s report, which was presented at a State Executive Council meeting, projected a monthly savings of ₦453.3 million for the state if its recommendations are fully implemented. The recovered ₦4.6 million was from officers who were found to be drawing double salaries or collecting pay while on leave.
The governor acknowledged that the clean-up might be politically unpopular, but stressed that it was essential for the state’s progress. He has directed that the findings be converted into a White Paper for full implementation. The exercise has also created the state’s first-ever unified digital database of all LGC and LEA staff, which is a significant step towards greater transparency and accountability in the public service.
