Heads may roll in Zamfara state ministry of finance after the state government uncovered salary payment-related fraud amounting to N216 million, the state commissioner of finance, Alhaji Rabiu Garba Gusau told Daily Trust.
He said all the officials of the ministry, including directors in charge of payment of workers’ salaries, have been removed from their positions as investigation into their involvement in the fraud has already commenced. He noted that any one found wanting would be prosecuted.
“We have removed them and we are checking the areas of responsibility of each one of them to ascertain who should be held responsible for a particular wrong doing and any one found involved will not escape justice,” he said.
The state finance commissioner said that the ministry had also uncovered underhand dealings in offer of appointments in the Hospital Services Management Board as racketeers had offered 230 jobs for sale between July this year to date.
He said the amount of money the affected 4,972 workers were receiving amounted to N216 million and some of the identified components of the abnormalities include case of civil servants not existing on the CBN database, pay name contrasting with what is obtainable in the bank.
Other discrepancies are: drawing more than one salary as captured by the CBN, uploaded accounts not linked with BVN, uploading of an unknown person as state civil servants on the payment system without the executive governor’s approval, and receiving salaries after retirement, among others.
Alhaji Rabiu Garba Gusau said the director of finance of the Hospital Services Management Board and his deputy were removed from their positions and are under investigation adding that the ministry is undertaking a forensic investigations into the payment of workers’ salaries because of the huge concern in the sector.
“We are sanitizing the system to ensure that infractions are checked through blockage of leakages to ensure probity and accountability in the ministry.
“No worker with honest and genuine complaints should panic. But, those with skeletons in their cupboards should get ready for prosecution as no stone will be left unturned in the matter,” he added.
He then called on those trying to politicise the matter to desist adding that state meagre resources would not be allowed to be drained by some unscrupulous elements in the civil service.
