Prince Solomon Eke, the chairman of Obio Akpor Local Government Area has said his administration is tackling the issue of “mind-boggling payroll fraud,” including dead workers who continue to draw monthly salaries from the council.
Eke had during the presentation of his administration’s scorecard at the said the challenge meant that the council’s monthly allocation hovering between N180 million and N190 million is swallowed by salaries which are within the same range.
He explained that the council cannot take up any serious activity because of the huge wage bill, adding that the situation prompted the ongoing staff audit and verification in the council.
Eke noted that the payroll fraud is the puzzle the Special Verification Committee will help unravel, stressing that the administration is already having some mind boggling revelations.
According to him: “Imagine that we have a lot of ghost workers on the payroll. Some dead workers are still receiving salaries. Some people are taking double salaries, some others are likely receiving salaries above their grade levels. We expect the audit exercise to clean up the mess.”
Eke said his administration in one year has been able to initiate a health insurance scheme allowing anyone resident or doing business in the locality to register with N4,000 and get free medical treatment on a wide range of ailments.
Eke also said his partial ban of commercial tricycle (Keke) operations has started yielded useful results with security operatives and residents attesting to the gradual drop in crime rate in the locality.
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