Anambra: 59 Dead People, 40 Pensioners, Five “Japa”, 400 Ghost Workers, Drawing Salaries From LGAs – Govt

By Suleiman Anyalewechi.

Six out of 14 IMSU Certificates presented by Staff were fake

59 dead persons, 40 pensioners and five individuals currently residing abroad are among a total of 400 ghost civil servants still drawing salaries and other allowances from the coffers of Anambra State Local Government Service Commission.

Besides, a sizable number of workers under the system are parading fake academic credentials usually procured for them by some certificate racketeering cartels operating in the Local Councils.

These startling revelations were made on Friday, July 5, 2024, in Awka the State Capital by the Chairman of the Commission, Vincent Ezeaka.

The 400 ghost workers were discovered in the 21 Local Councils of the State during a recent verification exercise, he disclosed.

Ezeaka who noted that the exercise is neither politically motivated, nor meant to witch hunt, further stated that two persons who are in the employ of two tertiary institutions, after voluntary retirement, are still collecting salaries.

He maintained that the exercise was principally informed by the desire of the Government to ensure the reign of sanity in the system.

“It is our duty to sanitize the system in line with the mandate given to us by Governor Chukwuma Soludo so that the genuine workers who sacrifice their time and energy can get value for their services and not looters who do not contribute anything to the development of Anambra State.

We are waiting for the Verification Committee to conclude its findings, then we move into action . I want to be thorough and that is why the Governor appointed me . The system is bleeding.” the Commission’s Chairman lamented .

According to him, those whose certificates are currently under scrutiny were first indicted, thereby prompting a full scale investigation into their trajectories.

“Those indicted were identified and we started investigating the certificates they presented to the committee and went as far as going to the universities that they are brandishing their certificates .

“We set up a Committee which came up with a report on people with suspicious certificates working in the various Local Government Areas of Anambra state.

“We then set up a Screening Committee that indicted so many of them

“Out of 20 persons who tendered Imo State University Certificates ,we discovered that out of the 14 so far screened six were fake” Ezeaka noted .

The Chairman lamented that there are many certificate racketeering syndicates within the system that help in procuring fake credentials for needy local council workers.

He, however, assured that the authorities will take all necessary steps in visiting the full weight of the law on all those found culpable in the whole criminal activities going on at the local council levels