The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Kaduna State Chapter, on Tuesday called on the state government not to spare any public official found culpable in the formation of ghost workers.

CAN Secretary, Rev. Sunday Ibrahim, was speaking against the backdrop of the ongoing verification of workers by the state government.

The CAN scribe told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna that the exercise was necessary and timely as it would rid the state of corrupt officials who enriched themselves at the expense of the government and people of the state.

“The issue of verification is a welcome idea. I believe that there are people that may not be working in this very state and are still collecting money from the government coffers; just like we have been hearing that one person collecting the salaries of ten, fifteen or twenty and above.

“People that are not working with the government, but they are collecting salaries from the Kaduna state government, or people that are ghost workers but they collect money.

“We have heard issues whereby somebody died for a very long time and then somebody is collecting the money and the families are not getting the money

“I plead with the government, who so ever is a party to it, the government should bring such a person to book, irrespective of his religion, his family background and who that person is.”

Ibrahim said that once such corrupt officials were made to face the law, it would serve as deterrence to others.

He also called on the state government to hold officials in charge of all the affected ministries, departments and agencies accountable for paying ghost workers.

He said: “Should there be somebody like that in a particular department or in a particular ministry, the man in charge of that ministry or department should be held responsible because he should know his workers.”

Meanwhile, the media aide to El-Rufai, Mr. Samuel Aruwan, has said that the exercise will continue “until the system is rid of fraud.”

According to him, the state government has so far saved N120 million in the first phase of the exercise. (NAN)

•Photo shows Gov. El-Rufai

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