The Zamfara State government has lamented what it described as the alarming number of ghost workers in the State Civil Service.
The government said the situation has become worrisome and perplexing.
Addressing newsmen in Gusau, the State Head of Service, HoS, Barrister Ahmad Liman said that nobody can exactly say the number of civil servants in the state.
He further stated the the ghost workers are mainly in the health and education sectors. According to him, a verification exercise is still ongoing.
“In a particular hospital, there were 22 health workers receiving salaries, but the verification revealed that only two health workers are genuine,” the HoS lamented.
The government official explained that the verification exercise will be concluded at the end of November 2024, after which a committee on salary will be constituted.
The HoS, who is also the Chairman, Steering Committee on Verification Exercise, pointed out that the present administration in the state inherited some unsolved issues from the past government.
“It was discovered that the implementation of the 2019 minimum wage of N30,000 was faulty.
“As soon as the verification and salary committees submit their reports, the state government will implement the new minimum wage of N70,000.
“We cannot implement new minimum wage without knowing the number of civil servants in the state,” the HoS said.