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Linus Oota, Lafia
The Nasarawa State House of Assembly has discovered ghost workers in local government councils payrolls placed in senior grade levels 15 and above.
Speaker of the House of Assembly Ibrahim Balarabe-Abdullahi revealed this on Monday during deliberation on a report to look into staff salaries and other finances of local governments in the state.
According to him “Some of the abnormalities discovered are: Ministry for Local Government prepares Payment Vouchers (PVs) instead of local governments and the produce two PVs to siphon money.
“There are several ghost workers and these ghost workers are being allocated to Directors and Education Secretaries grade levels and there is no audit report since 2016 in the local government in the state.
“The committee discovered abnomalites, especially conflicting figures for pensioners between state and local government.
“There are duplication of names and arbitrary implementation of grade levels and steps.
“Despite ban on promotions, there are abitrary promotions of some local government staff, especially teachers without following due process among other abnormalities.
“Before the screening exercise as directed by the state Assembly, only four local governments can conveniently pay their salaries 100 percent, but today the number has appreciated to 11 local governments with the exception of Lafia and Nasarawa Eggon local governments still battling up,” the Speaker e said.
He added that the Assembly recommended the separation of the state Pension Bureau from the Local Government Pension Bureau, with each bureau having a Director-General and staff.
“We have also recommended that the payment of salaries at the local government is to be centralised at each local government secretariat.
“And that Joint Accounts Committee (JAC) meetings should be only to reconcile accounts of the various local governments and not to distribute funds as it used to be in the past.
“That the state government should on a monthly basis remit the 10 percent of its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) funds to the local government.
“That the 5 percent statutory allocation to traditional council shall henceforth be paid into the consolidated account with the Ministry for Local Government,” he said.
Balarabe-Abdullahi said that the state Ministry for Local Government should provide the table of payments for the purpose of distribution of the 70 percent as its affect the graded chiefs in the state.
The Speaker said that the state Assembly would not fold its hands and watch the local government system collapse, adding that any one found wanting will be dealt with according of the law.
