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CROSS RIVER GOVT UNCOVERS 2000 GHOST PENSIONERS FROM PAYROLL
A statement from Administration House states that the Cross River State Administration has discovered 2,000 ghost pensioners on its payroll.
It was discovered that the pension thieves were partly to blame for the delays in clearing the backlog of gratuities that arose between 2014 and 2024.
Recall that state governor Bassey Otu established a committee some months ago to examine the retired civil and public officers’ payroll and make sure pension thieves are not present.
On Friday, however, Governor Bassey Otu’s Chief Press Secretary informed the media of the most recent payroll revelation made by the committee he had established.
The pension thieves’ identities are yet unknown.
According to Nsa Gill, “So far, the audit and verification exercise has uncovered over 2,000 (Two Thousand) ghost pensioners, who have consequently been expunged from both the State and Local Government Pensions Payrolls.”
In a statement released on Friday, Nsa stated that August 2024 will see the start of gratuity payments as the process to verify the identity of actual pensioners draws to a close. One week has passed since the first meeting of the Committee chaired by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) to turn in its report to the government.
The Government House spokesperson added that Governor Bassey Edet Otu, “has approved the sum of N10 Billion Naira only, to address the outstanding payment of Gratuity for retired Civil and Public Servants in the State.”
He noted that the formation of a Committee of the Executives of State and Local Government Pension Unions, headed by the Secretary to the State Government, had also received the governor’s approval. On Monday, July 29, 2024, the Committee is scheduled to convene with the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) to discuss the procedures for disbursing gratuities to retired civil and public officers in the state of Cross River.
Recall that the current administration took over a backlog of retiree gratuities that were unpaid as of 2014. This criterion was fulfilled by the government last year, but payment has been delayed because of audits and verification.