Checking Ghost Workers Syndrome

The Federal Government is obviously the largest employer of labour in the  country at least on account of the myriad of services it has to provide for the people, security, infrastructures and meaningful plans for the general development of the country. This all encompassing nature of government activities had over time given rise to a very large civil service both at  the federal and state levels. But sadly, recent reports indicate that the civil service across the country has become fertile ground for ripping-off the governments of millions of naira through the ghost workers syndrome maintained by an unscrupulous syndicate within the service.

In her speech at a send forth party organised  in her honour  by Etche workers in the state, the former  Head of Service (Hos) in Rivers State, Mrs Esther Anucha  bemoaned the ghost workers  syndrome in the service. She said that the fight she put up against it during her tenure as  HOS yielded  good results as the government discovered  about 8,000 ghost workers in the service. This feat reducd the state workforce from 54,000 to 46,000.

Even  the Bayelsa   State Governor, Seriake Dickson recently highlighted the menace of ghost workers in his state civil service.  He said that the existence of this drain pipe is costing the government so much revenue that could be usefully applied to development projects. Given the pervasive nature of corruption in our country,  it is safe  to conclude that the ghost workers syndrome must have  become a pain in the  neck of most administrations in the country,  albeit in varying magnitude.

But most Nigerians must have been  surprised when last  week it  came to light that with the newly introduced Integrated Payroll And Personal Information System (PPIS) by the Federal Ministry of Finance, a whopping  45,000 ghost workers were discovered during the implementation of the scheme in 251 Federal Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). The Minister of State for Finance, Yerima Ngama who broke the news said this discovery was made on the audit of 153, 019 workers in 215 MDAs, from which a staggering N100bn was saved. He also said that a total of 321 MDAs are yet to  be captured on the IPPIS scheme. This means that by the time the exercise would be completed   on the 321 MDAs yet to be captured, over 100,000 ghost workers would have been discovered in the federal government  service alone.  One then wonders who has, over time, sustained this syndicate that has been committing this broad day light robbery against the government  and people of Nigeria from which billions of naira must have been siphoned over time. Incensed by this  damnable development, the House of Representatives had rightly mandated  an ad hoc   committee to investigate the syndicate of ghost workers in the Federal  Civil Service. It is very disappointing that the civil service has been  riddled with many corrupt elements to the extent that in an audit  of less than half of MDAs 45,000 ghost workers were discovered as at January 2013. As such no effort should be spared in investigating this incident which is sustained by a chain of syndicates  who survive  on the multiplication of the actual number of  workers  while fleecing the government  of billions of naira annually. When at the   Second Annual Capital Market Retreat in Warri, Delta State, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN) Lamido Sanusi Lamido reviewed  the expenditure level of the Federal Government and  suggested measures to revamp  the  economy, he  fingered the bloated civil service as one of the drain pipes crippling the country.   According to him, “you have to fire half of the civil service.”

Following this, and other  recommendations he made on how to reduce the recurrent  expenditure of which a large part goes to the payment of salaries of workers of  the  bloated  states and federal civil service, the legislature, and maintenance of unviable states, not a few called him names because of  the mere mention of  downsizing  the civil service.

For example, the Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC), President, Abdual Waheed Omar called him a hollow economist and   urged the Federal Government to ignore him, while Peter Esele, President, Trade Union Congress, described  him as being professionally   misguided. But the recent revelation of the Minister of State, Finance shows that the Central  Bank Governor may have  been on track as it concerns the civil service and its huge salary budget.

The revelation by the Minister of Finance is enough to cast aspersions on the integrity of an array of officials engaged in the preparation of salaries for civil servants. Thus besides  investigating this crime, the House of Representatives should ensure somebody is held responsible for this criminal lapse. The NLC boss and his Trade Union Congress  counterpart should see this as a national challenge for which they must work hand in gloves with the audit committee of the House of Representatives to uproot ghost  workers once and for all and create room for new entrants into the civil service.