FG Loses N1bn To Ghost Workers – EFCC

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said it had uncovered 37,395 ghost workers on the payroll of the Federal Civil Service, which led to a loss of about N1 billion.

EFCC’s acting Chairman, Ibrahim Magu, made the disclosure yesterday during an anti-corruption sensitisation programme organised for staff of works and housing sectors.

According to him, apart from the widespread procurement frauds in Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, the issue of ghost workers was a source of serious concern to the commission.

“EFCC has uncovered 37,395 ghost workers in the Federal Civil Service and investigation is still going on. Our investigations have so far revealed that the Federal Government has lost close to N1 billion to these ghost workers.

“The figure will definitely increase as we unravel more ghost workers buried deep in Federal Civil Service payrolls,” he said.

He also explained that the commission had established a Procurement Fraud Unit to handle the increasing number of petitions relating to violations of the Public Procurement Laws. He, therefore, advised civil servants to avoid any act that was in breach of public procurement procedures, warning that violators risked imprisonment and dismissal from service.