Labour demands panel on 23,000 ‘ghost workers’

The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has urged the federal government to set up a joint-government-labour panel to establish the authenticity of the claim over the 23,000 ghost workers in its employ.
ASCSN Secretary-General, Comrade Alade Bashir Lawal, said in a statement in Lagos that the panel had become necessary before thousands of innocent civil servants are thrown into the oversaturated labour market.
 He said in view of the lateness that characterized the 2016 budget, it was reasonable to insist that due diligence be done on the “ghost workers” saga.
He pointed out that a few years ago when a similar alarm was raised about ghost workers in the Federal Civil Service, a thorough investigation was carried out at the end of which it turned out to be a hoax.
“Under normal circumstances, investigation should have been thoroughly carried out to determine the validity of the allegations before coming out with a statement about discovery of “ghost workers.
“The reason is that by the time a proper inquiry is undertaken and it is discovered that those who are being referred to as ghost workers are genuine employees, a lot of damage would have been done to the system.  This is certainly not good enough,” he added.
  According to the ASCSN, it is also inconceivable that the mere fact that some civil servants were not captured in the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) and the recent Bank Verification Number (BVN), an exercise that is still on-going, became ready excuses to rush to the conclusion that thousands of ghost workers exist in the Federal Civil Service.