Tackling ghost workers syndrome

FRESH revelations about Nigerian civil servants who have remained on the government payroll for years after relocating abroad again underscores the pervasive inefficiencies and corruption that have defined the public service.

That a Nigerian living in the United Kingdom could still be enjoying his salaries with the collusion of a superior who happened to be a relative is an appalling indication of a systemic breakdown in the country’s public service.

The ‘ghost worker’ syndrome remains a systemic fraud that has defied remedy with grave implications for the integrity of the state apart from the resultant loss of billions of naira yearly to rapacious civil servants and their collaborators. It is an untold travesty that some people are freeloading on the public purse while denying opportunities to genuine job seekers.

The rape of public finances persists because there is no punishment for perpetrators. President Bola Tinubu has promised to fish out and deal with the enablers. He must keep his word and public examples made of those caught to serve as a deterrent.

The problem is well-known. The Federal Government introduced the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System to streamline the salary payment process and eliminate corruption amid strong resistance by some ministries, departments, and agencies. An audit by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation of IPPIS found that the system had been compromised. The UK-based ghost worker’s case offers proof.

A 2016 Federal Government audit discovered over 50,000 ghost workers, leading to savings of approximately N200 billion annually. Similar discoveries have been made in states like Kaduna, where over 24,000 ghost workers were identified in 2017. In Kogi, around 8,000 phantom employees were uncovered in 2018. In 2021, Borno found 22,500 ghost workers, which cost it N420 million a month. This January, Anambra said it discovered 210 ghost workers on its payroll.

These discoveries point to the wider entrenched culture of sleaze and impunity within the public service. Civil servants orchestrate schemes to collect multiple salaries through proxies, retain retired and deceased workers, insert fake names in the payroll, and find ways to pocket such payments. Retirees’ pensions are routinely diverted and stolen.

Cases of sheer negligence abound where supervisors do not bother to check whether subordinates report for work. Civil servants run their private businesses and delegate others to sign work attendance registers on their behalf. Corruption can also be seen in how jobs and promotions are steered towards the relatives of politicians and officials.

The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Folashade Yemi-Esan, said that the verification exercise of the IPPIS had exposed 1,618 civil servants with fake/illegal employment letters. This is why civil servants are largely perceived as economic parasites and viewed with distrust by society.

The scenario gives credence to suggestions that the public service is severely bloated. It is about time the Tinubu administration summoned the courage to implement the recommendations of the Steve Oronsaye Report.

Losses from payroll fraud constitute a huge drain on public resources. For Nigeria’s civil service, once seen as a pillar of national development to retain its lost reputation, the government must implement a thorough overhaul. It should deploy modern identity management and digital tools to end this charade.

Technology advancements have made it possible to check payroll fraud. The government should install biometric verification tools to determine the number of employees qualified for payment and weed out ghost workers. The federal and state governments should strengthen the biometric capture of all workers and link data to their national identification numbers and bank verification numbers.

Supervisors should be held personally accountable for any discrepancies and duly punished along with payroll fraud perpetrators with the termination of appointments, prosecution, and recovery of fraudulent earnings.