Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara defended the ongoing comprehensive staff payroll verification across all 23 LGAs, emphasising that eliminating ghost workers is essential to restoring fiscal discipline to state finances. The verification exercise has been met with resistance from some quarters, but the governor insisted that it is necessary to ensure that public funds are not wasted.
Fubara’s defence of the exercise reflects a growing trend among state governments to clean up their payrolls. The presence of ghost workers has long been a drain on state finances, and the verification exercise is a step towards addressing the problem. The governor’s commitment to fiscal discipline is commendable, but the success of the exercise will depend on the thoroughness of the verification and the willingness of the government to act on the findings.
The winners: Rivers State taxpayers, who will benefit from reduced waste; and the Rivers State Government, which is taking steps to improve fiscal discipline. The losers: ghost workers, who will be removed from the payroll; and the Nigerian government, which must learn from Rivers State’s example.
Bottom Line: Fubara is cleaning up the payroll. Ghost workers are being eliminated. The question is whether the exercise will be thorough or just a token gesture.