The biometric audit conducted by the Emohua Local Government Area Council of Rivers State revealed payroll fraud and prevented the council from losing N150 million to phantom workers, according to Dr. Chidi Lloyd, the chairman of the local government council.
Lloyd made this revelation in an interview in Port Harcourt, revealing that the audit discovered non-existent employees on the payroll, dual employment, and discrepancies in salary payments amongst employees recruited on the same date.
He further revealed that the funds released from the audit process were used for infrastructure development in the council, including the construction of Eveku Road which is one kilometer long, Ukeli Road which is 1.5 kilometers long in Ndele, and the 1.2-kilometer-long Ubimini-Awara road, each equipped with drainage systems.
Read Also: FG Says Digital Technology Will Power Nigeria’s Future
The chairman further said the audit was necessitated by the need to solve the problem of an overgrown workforce and an insecure payroll system where salaries were prepared manually.
He further stated that, as a result of the reforms, the council automated the payroll process by domiciling salary vouchers with the bank to prevent manipulation of the manual payroll process.
According to Lloyd, as part of the reform process, many discrepancies were found, such as cases of different salaries for workers who worked during the same period, which made the council decide to harmonize the salary system.
While he acknowledged some resistance from beneficiaries of the previous process, he maintained that the administration would continue its reform agenda to ensure that transparency and accountability characterize how public money is managed.
Former speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly stated that the purpose of the reforms was to enhance good governance, create equal opportunities for all workers, and utilize the public money on developmental projects.
