The Bayelsa State government has uncovered a payroll fraud in the State Universal Basic Education Board, (SUBEB), with the discovery of over 765 illegally employed teachers in the eight Local Government Areas, including 50 dead persons in Ogbia Local Government Education Authority.
Disclosing this to newsmen yesterday in Yenagoa, the Executive Secretary of SUBEB, Comrade Walton Liverpool, said, with the latest discovery, by the time the exercise is concluded, the govern-ment would be saving over N100m monthly.
He said the discovery cuts across the eight local government areas of the state with Ogbia Local Government Education Authority, (LGEA) leading with 230 illegal employees.
Others are; Southern Ijaw LGEA, 192; Sagbama LGEA, 136; Ekeremor LGEA, 108; Brass LGEA, 9; Nembe LGEA, 25; Yenagoa LGEA, 25 and Kolokuma/ Opokuma LGEA, 40. According to him: “These sets of workers were illegally employed by fraudsters and now parading as civil servants.
As you are all aware, since the inception of the present administration, an embargo has been placed on fresh employment, but some people went behind to employ their cronies and backdated it to 2007.
“In course of our investigation, after cross checking the 2007 nominal roll and vouchers with the recent ones, it was discovered that over 765 names have been infused.
This has been the practice of some scrupulous officers in the Local Government Education Authorities.
“Some of the affected workers are being aided by the Local Government Education Authority staff. As I am talking to you now, one of them is cooling off at the State Criminal Investigations Department and more will still be arrested.”
