The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said on Tuesday that the Federal Government had uncovered 37,395 ghost workers on the Federal Civil Service payroll and that the government lost about N1 billion to them.

The EFCC’s acting Chairman, Ibrahim Magu, made the disclosure during an anti-corruption sensitization programme organized by the commission for staff of works and housing sectors.

Mr. Magu said that apart from the widespread procurement frauds in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), the issue of ghost workers was a source of serious concern to the commission.

“EFCC has uncovered 37,395 ghost workers in the Federal Civil Service and investigation is still going on.

“Our investigations have so far revealed that the Federal Government has lost close to N1 billion to these ghost workers.

The figure will definitely increase as we unravel more ghost workers buried deep in Federal Civil Service payrolls.’’

Mr. Magu also explained that the commission had established a Procurement Fraud Unit in order to handle the increasing number of petitions relating to violations of the Public Procurement Laws.

He, therefore, advised civil servants to avoid any act that was in breach of public procurement, warning that violators risked terms of imprisonment and dismissal from service.

Credit: PremiumTimes