•Akwa Ibom, Gombe begin biometric capturing to reduce wage bills
•Kaduna may revert to payment of N18,000, Nasarawa introduces TSA
Our Reporters
With the dwindling allocations from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC), state governments nationwide have planned a raft of measures to earn more revenues and enthrone frugality in public spending, THISDAY has learnt.
Investigations showed that many of the states are in dire financial straits and could hardly pay salaries as and when due as well as meet other contractual obligations in the wake of the double whammy of the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted socio-economic activities, and the low price of crude oil, the major source of foreign exchange for the federation, in the global market.
Share
The sum of N37m has been saved by Gombe State Government after running its newly introduced biometric capture of all civil servants in the state during the payment of salaries for the month of April, 2021, just as 668 ghost workers have been discovered.
The saved amount according to the state government included that of two Local Government Areas of Akko and Gombe from the eleven LGAs in the State where the biometric capture was also run assuring that the biometric capture will be a continuous exercise until the actual strength of the State Civil Servants is ascertain.
State Commissioner of Finance, Alhaji Gambo Magaji, made the disclosure during a press briefing organized in conjunction with the office of the Head of Civil Service, Alhaji Bappayo Yahaya, who is also the Chairman of the Committee saying that no fewer than 668 staff who could also be described as ghost workers were affected.