Barely a week after the Niger state government announced the dismissal of 80 Civil servants; the state government has discovered that 333 dead civil servants are still receiving salaries in the state.

These dead civil servants who have been certified to be dead have been on the payroll of the state civil service for the past two years.

The Commissioner for Works, Engineer Ibrahim Mohammed Panti, who is the Chairman of the Screening Committee disclosed this in an interview with newsmen on Minna.

He further disclosed that N207 million has also been uncovered to have been paid as salaries to these dead civil servants in the state in these two years.

“Out of the purported 27,000 civil servants on the payroll of the state government, only 15,907 of them have been discovered to be our genuine workers so far.

“There are 3,923 workers from different ministries who are still having pending issues and are still being investigated. These set of people had entered the state civil service with fictitious certificates and their names found on the payroll of the state.

“Within the last two years, 333 dead civil servants who had been certified dead are still drawing salaries from the state.”

Panti stated that the screening exercise which is ongoing has been revealing startling revelations stressing that the committee is determined to unveil all those who have been siphoning government resources.

He further revealed that 1,029 Civil Servants whose names are on the government payroll are yet to appear for screening.

“if by the end of Thursday which is the end of the screening they do not appear, they will be officially declared as ghost workers.” (The Nation)

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