Ghost Workers: Six States Uncover Huge Irregularities In Payroll Systems

25,000 ghost workers found in Kogi, 5, 357 in Rivers  |  Benue saves N1.2bn monthly after removing fictitious staff

By AZA MSUE, Makurdi; NICHOLAS DEKERA, Gusau; IBRAHIM OBANSA, Lokoja; RICHARD NDOMA, Calabar; GODWIN ENNA, Katsina; and ANAYO ONUKWUGHA,   Port Harcourt

Thousands of questionable employee records, suspected ghost workers, inflated wage bills and irregular salary payments running into billions of naira have been uncovered in payroll systems across six states.

This has exposed deep-seated weaknesses in public sector personnel management and financial accountability.

Investigations in Katsina, Rivers, Benue, Zamfara, Kogi and Cross River reveal fictitious employees, duplicate entries, illegal appointments, salary overpayments and unverified personnel uncovered through successive verification exercises.

Staff audits have led to states saving millions and billions of naira that would have gone down the drain.

Our correspondents examine the discoveries, their financial implications and the challenges confronting the states in tackling the ghost worker syndrome.

Katsina Uncovers 3,488 Payroll Irregularities, State Audit Ongoing

In Katsina, the state government uncovered 3,488 payroll irregularities involving personnel in the 34 local government councils and Local Education Authorities (LEAs), while a separate audit of the state civil service payroll remains unpublished.

The screening exercise, announced in September 2025, covered 50,172 personnel, of whom 46,380 were verified, according to the chairman of the biometric screening committee, Abdullahi Gagare.

The committee identified fake certificates, falsified dates of birth, underage employment, absenteeism, illegal promotions, fraud and alleged subletting of staff positions.

It also recovered N4.6 million from workers allegedly collecting salaries from both state and federal government establishments. Six others continued receiving salaries while on leave of absence.

The Education Secretary of Zango Local Education Authority was also accused of presenting 24 ghost workers for verification.

The committee projected monthly savings of N453.3 million, or about N5.4 billion annually, from implementing its recommendations.

Governor Dikko Umaru Radda had separately revealed that  the councils had already saved about N500 million, with the figure expected to rise to N5.7 billion.

While Gagare said the separate state civil service audit was still being compiled, the Katsina State Auditor-General’s 2023 report recorded 20,266 workers across the state services and two tertiary institutions, with combined monthly salaries of approximately N2.484 billion.

This comprised 19,018 state personnel, 1,079 university workers and 169 employees of the Katsina State Institute of Technology and Management.

The Special Adviser to Governor Radda on Local Government Inspectorate, Lawal Ahmad Rufa’i Safana, declined to make comments but promised a fresh update.

Rivers Discovers 5,397 Unverified Workers, 6,410 Pensioners

After the Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, authorised biometric verification across the state’s 23 local government areas and a comprehensive payroll audit, over 5,000 fake workers were flagged.

According to the Office of the Head of Rivers State Service, the state civil service nominal roll previously contained approximately 43,000 employees. Biometric screening confirmed 37,703 as genuine, leaving 5,397 unverified or potentially fraudulent entries.

Similarly, only 19,186 of the 25,000 names on the state pensioners’ roster were verified, leaving 5,814 unverified. At the local government level, 2,004 of 2,600 pensioners were verified, leaving another 596 entries outstanding.

Benue Exposes 2,500 Ghost Workers, Saves N1.2bn Monthly

In 2023, the Benue State Government uncovered 2,500 ghost workers on the payroll of its 23 local government areas.

Governor Hyacinth Alia, through his Chief Press Secretary, Tersoo Kula, disclosed the discovery while explaining delays in paying salaries to teachers and local government workers.

He said the administration had removed ghost workers allegedly created under his predecessor, Samuel Ortom, describing the exercise as exposing unprecedented padding of wage bills and payroll manipulation.

According to Alia, removing the 2,500 names saved the state more than N1.2 billion in one month.

He said, “The state government has saved N1.2billion from fetching out 2,500 ghost workers and many more things are being uncovered. What that means is that what was paid to teachers as N1.6billion will now be N800 million monthly.”

However, attempts to obtain an update from government officials, including the Commissioner for Finance and Economic Planning, Michael Oglegba, were unsuccessful.

Zamfara: Ghost Workers Drain N193.6m Monthly From State Payroll

Zamfara has grappled with allegations of payments to non-existent workers for more than a decade, with successive verification exercises uncovering fictitious employees, questionable appointments and salary irregularities.

In February 2025, the state government disclosed that 2,363 ghost workers were allegedly collecting N193,642,097.19 monthly, amounting to more than N2.32 billion annually.

Governor Dauda Lawal established a verification committee in August 2024, headed by the Head of Service, with the Commissioner for Finance, Accountant-General, Auditor-General, Statistician-General, labour representatives and the Executive Secretary of ZITDA among its members.

The committee was mandated to reconcile the nominal roll with the payroll, physically verify personnel and create electronic employee records.

Its February 2025 report cleared 27,109 permanent workers but identified 2,363 ghost workers allegedly collecting N193.6 million monthly; 1,082 workers due for retirement but still receiving N80.5 million monthly; 220 minors on the payroll; 207 workers not cleared or recommended for suspension, involving N16.37 million monthly; 12 workers on the payroll but absent from the database; and five workers on irregularly paid secondment.

It also identified 395 contract staff, 261 workers absent from the nominal roll, 213 on study leave and 67 on secondment. Seventy-five workers reportedly had appointment dates indicating they were minors when employed.

Governor Lawal’s spokesman, Sulaiman Bala Idris, said the exercise had saved the state more than N200 million monthly.

The health sector recorded particularly disturbing findings. Head of Service Ahmad Liman told journalists that one general hospital claimed to have 22 doctors on its payroll, but verification established that only two were genuine.

Liman also disclosed alleged salary overpayments involving a secondary school teacher entitled to N140,000 but receiving N700,000, and a doctor whose N700,000 entitlement had risen to more than N1 million.

The committee said the irregularities contributed to delays in implementing the N70,000 minimum wage.

…A History Of Repeated Discoveries

The problem predates the present administration. In 2012, a verification exercise under former Governor Abdulaziz Yari reportedly uncovered 7,000 ghost workers. Of 28,183 personnel, only 21,067 were found to be genuine.

In 2019, the Matawalle administration reportedly discovered 5,000 ghost workers and suspended five Finance Ministry directors over alleged appointment racketeering. A 119-year-old worker was also reportedly found on the payroll among 485 personnel due for retirement.

In 2020, the Health Services Management Board reportedly uncovered 80 ghost doctors and 39 ghost nurses collecting N20 million monthly.

In January 2023, former Governor Bello Matawalle said the state was paying salaries for 280 doctors when only 81 were available.

Despite the repeated discoveries, no major prosecution has been publicly announced against those allegedly responsible.

Experts say the syndicate creates fictitious employee identities, opens bank accounts in their names and processes salaries through government payroll systems. The proceeds are allegedly shared among payroll officers, account holders and political patrons involved in securing fraudulent appointments.

..Genuine workers caught in the clean-up

The verification exercise has also generated complaints from genuine workers.

In October 2025, more than 3,000 civil servants, mostly teachers and health workers from the state’s 14 local government areas, protested their exclusion from the payroll, claiming they had not received salaries since February.

Their spokesman, Mohammed Shamsu, said Governor Lawal had promised to address their complaints but nothing had been done. The workers also organised special prayers in Gusau.

Following pressure from the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), the government established a re-verification committee. However, officials said more than 1,300 affected workers failed to appear, warning that they would be treated as ghost workers.

Labour leaders argued that some genuine workers in remote areas, including Maradun, Bukkuyum and Anka, might have been unable to travel to Gusau or lacked proper documentation.

Kogi Removes 25,000 Ghost Workers From Payroll

In Kogi, the state government reportedly uncovered more than 25,000 ghost workers between 2016 and 2026, reducing its workforce from 88,973 to approximately 63,870.

The verification exercise under former Governor Yahaya Bello covered the combined workforce of the state civil service, local government employees and teachers, removing thousands of unverified personnel and suspected ghost workers.

Incumbent Governor Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo has indicated that his administration will soon embark on a recruitment exercise to fill vacancies and strengthen the workforce.

However, the number of positions and commencement date are yet to be announced.

Cross River: 2,800 Questionable Records Flagged, Government Mum On Losses

Cross River State has suffered a similar affliction.  It flagged more than 2,800 questionable payroll records in 18 months and uncovered 645 cases of double salary payments in October 2026 alone.

Yet, three years after Governor Bassey Otu ordered a personnel audit, the state has not disclosed its total losses, recoveries or prosecutions arising from payroll fraud. Available workforce figures are also conflicting. In January 2026,

The state’s accountant-general Dr Glory Effiong put the state’s workforce at about 15,000, with more than 14,000 paid that month. However, Head of Service Orok Okon gave a figure of approximately 41,000 civil servants in October, alongside more than 20,000 pensioners.

Officials explained that the 15,000 covered core state civil servants paid through the Accountant-General’s Office, while the larger figure included local government workers, teachers, primary healthcare personnel and pensioners.

The latest verification exercise showed that 61,167 staff members and pensioners had been profiled as of October 13, 2026. Of these, 52,330 were validated, while 8,837 remained outstanding.

The outstanding cases comprised 6,920 yet to begin verification and 1,917 undergoing the process. Another 469 cases required reconciliation.

..Wage Bill And Questionable Payments

In 2023, the state’s monthly wage bill ranged between N2.3 billion and N3 billion, including N800 million for more than 5,000 political appointees. No official wage bill was published for 2024, 2025 or 2026.

In 2025, former chairman of the Local Government Service Commission, Darlington Eyo, said a verification exercise had uncovered 800 ghost workers who were subsequently removed.

In June 2026, Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, Chief Victor-Felix Idem, disclosed more than 2,000 questionable records, including invalid Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs), duplicate entries and suspected ghost workers, particularly in the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).

He also alleged that one BVN had been used to collect salaries for several individuals.

His subsequent breakdown listed 1,200 fake BVNs in local government councils, 526 in primary healthcare centres, 643 among political appointees and 2,000 in SUBEB, figures that appear to overlap.

Governor Otu had raised concerns in June 2023, saying he was informed that more than 40 per cent of the workforce had retired while the payroll continued to grow.

He subsequently directed the Department of State Services to conduct an audit and produce a biometric-backed nominal roll.

Workers challenge verification exercise

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Union of Teachers, through its chairman, Comrade Gregory Olayi, who is also the NLC chairman in the state, has complained that some genuine teachers who completed verification remain unpaid.

In 2026, the government cancelled more than 4,000 local government recruitments, retaining only 821, alleging that only about 500 appointments had been approved and the others smuggled into the system by a syndicate.

It later reversed the decision and reinstated 3,000 affected workers.

Despite these discoveries, the state has not disclosed its losses, recoveries or savings between 2023 and 2026. The frequently quoted ₦1.3 billion monthly savings relate to a 2017 exercise, not the current audit.

Only one suspect was reportedly charged in connection with the 2025 exercise, but no name, charge number or court details were provided.

The clean-up is also facing resistance. In a letter dated November 2, 2026, the Local Government Service Commission and the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) objected to a second verification exercise ordered by the Head of Service.

Officials from the Office of the Accountant-General and the Head of Service declined to comment.

With thousands of questionable records, double payments and outstanding verification cases, Cross River is yet to provide a comprehensive account of its payroll losses, recoveries and prosecutions.