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Nigeria uncovers over 23,000 ghost workers on gov't payroll

Xinhua, March 1, 2016 Adjust font size:

Authorities in Nigeria have uncovered and cut off about 23, 846 ghost workers on the monthly payroll of the national government, a fraud which had been plaguing the economy for years, the Ministry of Finance said.

The fraud was uncovered following an anti-corruption audit on civil servants in the West African country, using the Bank Verification Number platform, the finance ministry said in a statement.

So far, the move, which is part of President Muhammadu Buhari's anti-corruption campaign, has significantly reduced public wages by at least 11.5 million U.S. dollars, according to the statement. More than 40 percent of total government expenditures go into public wages in Nigeria.

The Nigerian government said it will continue with the audit till the end of this year, to further ascertain the total number of civil servants entitled to monthly salaries.

"The ongoing exercise is part of the cost-saving and anti-corruption agenda of the present administration and would be key to funding the deficit in the 2016 budget," the finance ministry added. Endit