In a bid to rid the public service of ghost workers, the Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, has ordered the verification of the over 48, 977 workers in the state’s payroll.
The governor’s directive was contained in a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka.
According to Mr. Fayose, the verification is meant to block the over N500 million being lost monthly by the government through the e-payment system contracted by the immediate past administration, to a private firm.
He, however, directed that the April salary be paid as workers are verified, adding that the exercise was not meant to delay payment of wages in the state.
The All Progressives Congress in the state had alleged that the verification exercise was a ploy to provoke Ekiti workers to go on strike so that the impeachment process initiated against the governor by the 19 APC lawmakers would be scuttled.
In apparent response to the claim, Gov. Fayose said “Those insinuating that the verification exercise was meant to delay payment of April salary are just playing cheap politics because the arrangement is such that the moment verification is concluded on daily basis, salary of those cleared will be paid”.
“The implication of this is that those verified on Tuesday, May 12, will receive their April salary on Wednesday, May 13, while those verified on Wednesday will get paid on Thursday. By Friday, May 14, seventy percent of the workers would have received their April salary”, he explained.
Giving a blow by blow account of how the exercise will be carried out, Mr. Olayinka said staff of core Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, will be verified from May 12. Staff of the state’s Health Management Board and six local government areas would also be verified on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The six local councils to be verified on Tuesday and Wednesday include Ado, Efon, Ekiti East, Ekiti South West, Moba and Oye while staff of Ise/Orun, Ikere, Emure, Ekiti West, Ido/Osi, Ikole, Ilejemeje and Irepodun/Ifelodun, Gbonyin and Ijero would have their turn on Thursday and Friday.
Also to be verified on Thursday and Friday are staff of the Local Government Training School, Local Government Service Commission, Loans Board and Pension Board, as well as primary school teachers in Ado, Efon, Ekiti East, Ekiti South West, Ekiti West, Emure, Gbonyin, Ido/Osi local councils. Others include staff of the State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB and Local Government Education Authority, LGEA.
On May 16 and May 18, primary school teachers in Ijero, Ikere, Ikole, Ilejemeje, Irepodun/Ifelodun, Ise/Orun, Moba and Oye local governments, as well as all secondary school teachers in the state would go through the verification process.