By OSAGIE OTABOR, Benin

A civil servant (names withheld) in the employment of the Ondo State Government has been suspended after he ‘employed’ his wife and placed her on level 14.

The wife was said not to have attended any interview nor the state government aware of her employment but she was collecting salaries.

Senior Special Assistant to Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu on Special Duties, Doyin Adebowale, stated this when he paraded 25 civil servants caught for various offences including stealing millions of naira, employment racketeering and including fictitious names in the payroll of the state government.

A staff of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) was also suspended for allegedly stealing the sum of N104m from the coffers of SUBEB.

Odebowale told newsmen that the suspended civil servants would be prosecuted and severely dealt with.

He explained that they were caught due to reforms carried out by the Head of Service, Mr. Alex Aragbaye.

According to him, “We are here because of certain suspects the Governor directed that we prosecute. In the civil service there has been this stealing going on undetected. They do it in several ways, especially through staff list.

“We have people that imputed fictitious figures into the payroll. When the new Head of Service got into office, he put in place certain reforms to make us know those in actual service.

“We were able to discover that certain elements whose names appear on staff list were never employed. A particular man employed his wife and placed her on level 14. She never attended interview and she has been collecting salaries.

“One of them moved 104 million out of SUBEB account. We have other instances of other millions of naira moved. These were pure stealing. They have been suspended. They will be prosecuted and made to face disciplinary measures.” (The Nation)

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