Zamfara uncovers N216m fraud

Zamfara State Commissioner of Finance, Alhaji Rabiu Garba Gusau has disclosed that fraud relating to salary payments to the tune of N216 million has been uncovered in the state.

He told Daily Trust that officials including directors in charge of payment of workers’ salaries were removed from their positions as a result of the development, and investigation into their possible involvement has already commenced, and assured that anyone found wanting would be prosecuted.

“We have removed them and we are checking the areas of responsibility of each one of them to ascertain who should be held responsible for a particular wrongdoing, and any one found involved will not escape Justice,” he said.

The state finance commissioner said that the ministry had also uncovered underhand dealings in appointment offers in the Hospital Services Management Board, as racketeers had offered 230 jobs for sale between July this year to date.

He said the amount of money the affected 4972 workers were receiving amounted to N216 million and that some identified components of the abnormalities include cases of civil servants not existing on the CBN Data base, as well as actual names contrasting with what obtains in the bank record, among others.

“We are sanitizing the system to ensure that infractions are checked through blockage of leakages to ensure probity and accountability in the ministry. No worker with honest and genuine complaints should panic, but, those with skeletons in their cupboards should get ready for prosecution as no stone will be left unturned in the matter,” he said.