[Nigeria] State government will probe bloated Cross River payroll

In Nigeria, the Cross River Government will probe how the state workforce has grown from around 18,000 staff to 56,358 in just eight years, The Guardian reports.

Dr Innocent Eteng - the state Head of Service (HoS) - announced the move at a press conference in Calabar on March 26. 

Dr Eteng reportedly said that Governor Bassey Otu had expressed concern about the high cost of paying government employees’ salaries.

He said that the massive number of government employees had created a significant financial burden for the present administration, making it difficult to fund other priority projects.

As a result, Dr Eteng said, the state government had vowed to sanitise the workforce payroll which he described as “currently bloated by several infractions”.

Sharing a breakdown of the 56,358 workforce, Dr Eteng said that the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) had 14,328 staff, while the Primary Health Care Development Agency had 2,812.

The HoS added that the State Civil Service had 22,526 pensioners, among others.

"The present administration has religiously kept its promise of prompt payment of salaries and has done up-to-date, except for a few civil servants whose names could not be reconciled on the nominal roll and payroll.

“However, there is an ongoing strategic clean-up of the state payroll, driven by the office of the HoS and the Accountant General, to rid the system of any ambiguities,” he said.

Source: The Guardian

(Quotes via original reporting)

In Nigeria, the Cross River Government will probe how the state workforce has grown from around 18,000 staff to 56,358 in just eight years, The Guardian reports.

Dr Innocent Eteng - the state Head of Service (HoS) - announced the move at a press conference in Calabar on March 26. 

Dr Eteng reportedly said that Governor Bassey Otu had expressed concern about the high cost of paying government employees’ salaries.

He said that the massive number of government employees had created a significant financial burden for the present administration, making it difficult to fund other priority projects.

As a result, Dr Eteng said, the state government had vowed to sanitise the workforce payroll which he described as “currently bloated by several infractions”.

Sharing a breakdown of the 56,358 workforce, Dr Eteng said that the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) had 14,328 staff, while the Primary Health Care Development Agency had 2,812.

The HoS added that the State Civil Service had 22,526 pensioners, among others.

"The present administration has religiously kept its promise of prompt payment of salaries and has done up-to-date, except for a few civil servants whose names could not be reconciled on the nominal roll and payroll.

“However, there is an ongoing strategic clean-up of the state payroll, driven by the office of the HoS and the Accountant General, to rid the system of any ambiguities,” he said.

Source: The Guardian

(Quotes via original reporting)