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Over 21, 000 out of 61,000 of public servants in Kano State are said to be indebted to private loan companies in the State at the moment, BusinessDay has learnt.
Umar Faruk, Secretary to the State Government, stated this while briefing journalists in Kano, on the State’s Standing Committee on Pay Parade presented updates on the ongoing salary verification exercise.
Faruk expressed concern that many of the affected workers, particularly in the education sector, receive little or no take-home pay after loan deductions are made from their salaries.
He noted that the Government is employing both physical and technological methods to address discrepancies in the payroll system.
“Under the technological system, we have developed an application that integrates workers’ National Identification Number (NIN), Bank Verification Number (BVN), and other biodata, including photographs,” he said.
Providing further insights, Sulaiman Sani, the Chairman of the State Payroll Committee, revealed that 1,335 workers had yet to appear for verification in the last five months.
“The outcome of previous verification exercises has necessitated the formation of a high-powered committee to address critical areas and sanitize the state’s payroll system,” he added.
Sani also disclosed that in March alone, 240 workers were discovered to be receiving double salaries, while 217 others were found to have duplicate BVNs.
He, however, assured that all irregularities would be thoroughly investigated to prevent payroll fraud.
“To ease the burden on workers, the government will suspend loan deductions for the next three months while these debts are verified. However, statutory deductions such as pensions, health insurance, and union dues will continue,” he stated.
In a related development, Umar Idi, Chairman of the Local Government Payroll Committee, reported that 679 local government workers had yet to complete the six-month-old verification exercise.
