BVN expose 579 ghost workers in Plateau, saves N68m monthly

The Bank Verification Number (BVN) exercise conducted by the Plateau state government aimed at identifying and flushing out ghost workers among civil servants, has exposed 579 fake workers and saved N68.6 million monthly for the state government.

Speaking with newsmen at the monthly ministerial briefing yesterday, the Commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammad Nazif, assured that government will sustain the exercise to ensure that the ugly trend is completely brought to an end.

His words: “a BVN matching service for the state employees and pensioners was carried out. At the end of the exercise, 579 persons were taken off the salary payroll for various reasons, saving N68.6 million monthly for the state.”

Nazif explained that 101 persons out of 579 were guilty of the offense and therefore will make a combined refund of N76.8 million for staying in service beyond their terminal dates.

The Information Commissioner noted that one of the high points of Governor Simon Lalong’s administration is to turn around the fortunes of the state by taking measures to improve revenue generation and block leakages in financial operations, adding that the governor has ensured the full implementation of the International Public Sector Accounting Standard (IPSAS).

“The governor has consequently approved the production of IPSAS Cash Basis Accounting User Manual Volume 1 and 2; and also the verification, valuation and documentation of fixed and movable assets of ministries and agencies in the state.

“This project is necessary for the migration from cash basis to Accrual Accrual Basis of IPSAS,” Nazif said.