N400m Payroll Infractions: Akeredolu Directs Dismissal of Workers

Fidelis David

Ondo State Governor, Mr Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN) yesterday  directed the state Head of Service to dismiss officers who are receiving double salaries from the state payroll.
Governor Akeredolu gave the directive while receiving the report of the Committee for Verification, Scrutinisation and Clean-up of the State Payroll.
The governor, who suspected that the State Payroll including salaries and pensions had been compromised, set up a seven-member committee to continuously clean up the payroll of infractions.
Receiving the reports, governor Akeredolu frowned at the different infractions discovered in the payroll, lamenting the over-bloated workforce which he said was occasioned by many ghost workers.
Akeredolu also directed that all Ministries, Departments and Parastatals in the State should stop recruitment under any guise until the Salary Verification Committee has concluded its assignment.
He said: “We have over-bloated workforce, and undoubtedly, I am sure there are many ghost workers. Those who are receiving double salaries, apart from recovering the money from them, I am directing the Head of Service to get them dismissed. They must serve as deterrent to others,” he
 said.
Governor Akeredolu appreciated the committee for doing a yeoman’s job and not compromising their integrity.
Earlier, the committee, led by the Chairman and former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Victor Olajorin, informed the governor that the first and major step taken by the committee was to contact the various service including the Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM), Hospitals’ Management Board (HMB), Local Government Service Commission (LGSC) among others.
He noted that the committee also obtained vital documents like the Nominal Roll, Disposition List, Pay Register and Pension Payroll so as to achieve its mandate.
“The documents were consequently scrutinized and in the process, some infractions were discovered. Mr. Governor, permit me to inform you that our beam light was initially focused on TESCOM and some of the infractions detected were about: Officers/pensioners receiving both salary/pension, retired officers later reappointed and drawing salary/pension, officers whose salaries are hanging among others.
“Details are contained in the Volume 1 report of the Committee. In the process, a sum of N304,859,812.51 was discovered as the aggregate loss to the State Government from the above infractions.
“In furtherance of our activities, attention was shifted to the pay register of Hospital Management Board. The committee carried out on-the-spot verification for both medical and non-medical personnel in their various facilities across the state.  The exercise led to the discovery of some unwholesome practice like abscondment, study leave without pay, payment of salaries to officers after resignation, while some officers couldn’t be traced to any health facilities.
“So far, a sum of N192,873,592 has been discovered from HMB as the total loss to the State Government. Mr. Governor, permit me to mention that the Committee has so far, identified the sum of N497,733,404 for infractions in TESCOM and HMB,” Olajorin said.

The Chairman also explained that another issue of concern found by the Committee was the lopsidedness observed in the posting of officers to health facilities at the urban centres at the detriment of the ones in the ritual areas. 

Abe Confirms Leaving APC, Restates Support for Tinubu

Former representative of Rivers South-east Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Senator Magnus Ngei Abe said he has left the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State.
He, however said that he is still part of the family of the APC Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Abe, who stated this while speaking on TVC Television Programme, yesterday in Abuja, maintained that he left in order to seek fortune somewhere else.
The Senator insisted that although he has left the party, the purported letter of resignation circulating online does not originate from him.
He said: “I have since left the APC in Rivers State but the letter circulating round is not from me. I am still part of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s family and has no issue with him whatsoever.
“I am a part of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s political family and I’m also part of his own family, and that is a very separate thing, from the politics of Rivers State.
“Yesterday, there were some funny letters circulating on the internet, that I have resign from the APC because Asiwaju refused to intervene in the politics of Rivers State, that is ridiculous, all politics is local, I have no interest whatsoever in the APC in Rivers State.
“When people talk about resignation, how do I resign from the party I don’t even know who the ward chairman is, so I couldn’t have written a letter to people that I don’t know, what I know from the Constitution of the APC, and the constitution of the country is that there are several means by which you leave the party, and one of the means is by way of resignation. So resignation is just one of the ways that are available to members to leave the party.
“You can leave by resignation, you can leave by death, you can withdraw your membership, you can join another political party, the way the APC is sinking in Rivers State it makes no sense for any politician that has serious political interest in the State to remain in the APC in Rivers State.
“I have no stake in the APC in Rivers State. I don’t know anybody that is in the entire executive of the APC in all the 319 wards in the State. I don’t even know who my ward chairman is neither do I know any ward ex-officio, officer of the party. I don’t have anybody who is running for any office in the APC in Rivers State that I know, except Asiwaju who is running for President.
“I have absolutely no stake in the party in Rivers State and all politics at the end of the day is local. And so it will be irresponsible of me to stay in the APC in Rivers State and support a party in which I have no stake in their victory.

“So it is clear to everybody who is watching the politics of this country that my future in the politics of Rivers State is not tied to the APC  and  so it is clear that I’m no longer a member of the APC in Rivers State as far as that goes, but the purported letter flying around wasn’t authored by me and I know absolutely nothing about it. And, it does not reflect my views and my opinions as far as the politics of Rivers State is concerned.
“I have said in the coming days a lot of things will unfold but the issue of me and the APC in Rivers State I think that was decided a long time ago.
“I don’t know why people are still speculating and writing letters on an issue that I have made public a long time ago that I’m not part of the APC as far as Rivers State is concerned.”
On the issue of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu presidency, Senator Abe opined that most Nigerians are looking for assurances as to what the future portend.
“Nigerians are looking for assurances as to what the future portend as it concerns Asiwaju presidency, because whether we like it or not, a lot of families are going through difficult crisis at this time.
“I don’t think the biggest concern in any family now is the church that Shettima attends. I think what people want to hear about everywhere now are issues of what is going to happen to security.
“What is going to happen to the economy, how is this going to affect their life, and the lives of their children, those things are the critical issues.
 “I don’t think the issues of the Vice President being a Christian or a Muslim is the most important issue that Nigerians are facing at this time. After all, the current Vice President is a Christian. If that were to be the most important thing for most people then we shouldn’t be complaining right now.
“I understand that there are a lot of people who may be feeling shortchanged or disturbed or even worried by the level of rhetoric that is going on around this issue.
“I think that the responsibility of those who believe in the presidency of Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu is to reassure them and explain to them how this presidency will tie into their own goals and aspirations for the future and I think that is what is critical to those who want to support Asiwaju in this country”.