NUT, NULGE back Cross River Govt’s move to flush ghost workers from payroll

The Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT, and the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, have thrown their weight behind the Cross River State Government’s ongoing payroll verification exercise aimed at eliminating more than 2,000 suspected ghost workers from the local government wage system.

The exercise, currently being conducted across the state, is designed to sanitize the payroll structure, address irregularities and ensure that only genuine workers receive salaries.

Speaking at the weekend, Cross River NUT Chairman, Comrade Greg Olayi, said the union had consistently engaged relevant government agencies and encouraged affected teachers to submit payslips, Bank Verification Number, BVN, details and other required documents for verification.

While endorsing the exercise, Olayi noted that some teachers who complied with the verification requirements were still facing challenges accessing their salaries. He urged government to address the situation and ensure that legitimate workers were not unfairly affected.

The NUT chairman also expressed concern over delays and inconsistencies in the implementation of teachers’ promotions, calling on authorities to review outstanding cases and clear all verified promotion records.

Olayi recently led a protest by teachers over the alleged non-payment of salaries dating back to November last year, insisting that the union’s actions were driven by concern for members whose salaries had been delayed or suspended during the verification process.

Similarly, NULGE President in the state, Comrade Leko Otabe, described the payroll sanitization exercise as necessary, saying it would help eliminate unauthorized entries and other irregularities that have complicated salary administration in local governments.

Otabe, however, called for stronger collaboration between government and labour unions to improve communication and facilitate quicker resolution of payroll-related disputes.

Providing further clarification, the Auditor-General for Local Governments, Elder Bassey Abam Eko, said the temporary suspension of some promotion implementations was necessary to enable a comprehensive review of records and prevent irregularities.

He explained that detailed documentation had been requested to determine the financial implications of promotions and ensure that all adjustments were backed by verifiable records.

At an interactive session with labour leaders and journalists in Calabar, the Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, Chief Victor-Felix Idem, disclosed that investigations uncovered widespread payroll abuses, including invalid BVNs, duplicated records and instances where a single BVN was allegedly linked to multiple salary payments.

According to the commissioner, preliminary findings indicate the existence of over 2,000 ghost workers on the state payroll, with many of the questionable records traced to the State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB.

He dismissed allegations that teachers were being paid half salaries, insisting that the verification exercise was intended to protect public funds and guarantee prompt payment to legitimate workers.

“We have discovered over 2,000 invalid and questionable records in the payroll system. In some cases, one BVN was being used to collect salaries meant for several individuals.

“We cannot allow such practices to continue if we truly want to protect public funds and ensure genuine workers are paid,” Idem said.

NUT, NULGE back Cross River Govt’s move to flush ghost workers from payroll