Malam Lawal Maikano, the Commissioner for Finance in Niger, revealed that the ministry recently uncovered approximately 200 fake names listed on the state government’s payroll.
He disclosed this during an interview with journalists immediately after the ministry’s 2024 budget defense in Minna on Friday.
Maikano explained that the discovery was a result of the technology implemented by the state government to scrutinise the state civil service.
“Governor Umaru Bago’s administration is resolute in closing all loopholes and leaks. To achieve this, we are employing technology to streamline these processes, which we initiated within the first two months of our tenure.
“We have removed approximately 100 to 200 names from the payroll that were nonexistent. If they were genuine, we would have received numerous complaints about non-payment of salaries,” he stated.
He mentioned that the state employs about 25,000 individuals and that the state government expends N2.5 billion monthly on salary payments.
However, he clarified that the funding for the 2024 budget, totalling N613 billion, would come from loans, Federal allocation, revenue generation, and other sources. (NAN)
