ABIA STATE GOVERNMENT DISCOVERS 2,300 GHOST NAMES ON PAYROLL, SAVES OVER N200 MILLION MONTHLY.

ABIA STATE GOVERNMENT DISCOVERS 2,300 GHOST NAMES ON PAYROLL, SAVES OVER 200 MILLION NAIRA MONTHLY.

The Abia State Government has recently achieved significant financial savings by identifying and removing 2,300 ghost names from its payroll. Through an ongoing verification process, the government has managed to save over N200 million on its monthly wage bill.

Speaking after a meeting with Governor Dr. Alex Otti, OFR, State Accountant General Deaconess Njum Onyemenam revealed that these substantial savings were made possible by the implementation of a unified payment system. The verification exercise, which is still ongoing, aims to further identify and eliminate ghost workers and achieve even greater financial savings in the future.

"We are pleased to announce that we have successfully saved N220 million through the ongoing verification of workers across the state, local governments, and pensioners," stated Onyemenam. "Thanks to the unified payment system, we have already removed 2,300 ghost names from the payrolls, and we continue to uncover more as the exercise progresses."

In line with Governor Otti's directive, the government has taken prompt action to rectify previous administration's arrears and ensure timely payment. The April salary arrears left by the immediate past administration have been settled, and June pensions have been disbursed to retirees.

Furthermore, the Accountant General confirmed that local government staff, who were excluded from receiving their June salaries due to their failure to submit verified payment schedules, can expect their salaries to be paid this week.

The government of Abia State remains committed to transparency and accountability in its financial management and will continue to diligently identify and address any discrepancies to secure optimal utilization of public funds.