The Federal Government has commenced a probe of the N165 billion it pays as monthly salary to its workforce.
Making the disclosure yesterday in Lagos at a meeting with Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, said government had started making some discoveries through the inves-tigation. Adeosun said the figure was too high and government was pursuing aggressive measures to detect and prosecute ghost workers and other saboteurs in the system. “We spend 165 billion every month on salaries and when I came in, there was no checking.
According to her, it is shocking that the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), which was not fully functioning, still had 10,000 workers in its payroll serviced by government. According to Adeosun, the probe was necessitated by government’s determination to free resources in order to address other critical issues like infrastructure development, job creation and investment in other sectors of the economy in line with the administration’s diversification initiative.
The minister said: “The civil service staff is over bloated. We have about 1.2 million staff on government’s payroll, but I don’t think we have this number anywhere else. So, we are building control. “We are collaborating with other tiers of government, especially the state governments, so that we don’t have, for instance, a doctor working with the state government hospital and at the same time working with the Federal Government,” she said.
While noting that the huge payout, which is about 40 per cent of total government expenditure, is not sustainable, the minister said all government agencies and parastatals would be investigated. She said the process would be aided by available Information Technology platforms and the Biometrics Verification number (BVN) recently introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
“On this salary issue, we are verifying the Police, Army and others. The wage bill is not sustainable. There are people who have died about four years ago, but their names are still on the payroll,” the minister said.
On the fiscal policies of the administration, the minister said prudency in spending and blocking of wastage, are the hallmark of the present government. Adeosun added that efforts would be geared towards investment in capital needed to grow the local economy in the next one year. Speaking on the issue of payment of petrol subsidy recently announced by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), she noted that the payment could be for pending arrears, as petroleum subsidy is not captured in the 2016 national budget.
Also, on the issue of Value Added Tax (VAT) and tariff on newsprint, the minister said she was aware of tariff placed on various items, but would have to verify that of the newsprint with the view to providing some leverage to the media industry to support their critical role in nation building. Present alongside Adeosun at the NPAN meeting were the Ministers of Environment, Amina Mohammed; Agriculture, Audu Ogbe and Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
The meeting, which was moderated by Mr. Nduka Obaigbena, had in attendance, top media personalities. In his remarks, Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbe, said government was collaborating with other units to develop the agriculture sector. He, however, bemoaned the current interest rate, stating that it is not suitable for long-term investment in the sector.
While urging potential local investors to consider investing in the areas of plantation as that remains the best option for now, the minister said his ministry was partnering with the CBN to achieve a single digit exchange rate. In her speech, the Minister of Environment, Mohammed, said government is vigorously working on environmental challenges in the country by providing potable water, embarking on tree planting campaign and ending illegal logging.
In his address, Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the government had made progress in dealing with Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East. Mohammed noted that the ongoing crackdown against members of the sect in the Sambisa forest by the military would weed out remnants of the insurgents.
