The Kano State Government has uncovered widespread irregularities in its payroll system, revealing that 240 civil servants are receiving double salaries while 217 others share identical Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs).
Dr. Sulaiman Wali Sani, Special Adviser to the Governor on Civil Service Matters and Chairman of the State Coordinating Committee, made the disclosure during a press conference in Kano on Sunday. Representing the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Sani said the findings emerged from a biometric verification exercise and the work of two standing committees set up to audit both state and local government payrolls.
“These inherited shortcomings in the payroll system have continued to disturb the government. We discovered that 240 employees are drawing double salaries while 217 individuals are operating under the same BVN, suggesting possible ghost workers or identity manipulation,” Sani said.
The revelations are part of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf’s broader efforts to sanitize the civil service and fulfill his campaign promise of ensuring the prompt and full payment of workers’ entitlements.
Adding to the concerns, Sani disclosed that 1,335 workers have failed to present themselves for verification for over six months, further questioning the authenticity of the state’s payroll.
At the same briefing, Alhaji Umar Idi, Chairman of the Local Government Standing Committee, revealed that an audit uncovered 247 suspicious names on the payrolls of local governments and primary healthcare agencies. These included retirees, deceased persons, and instances of unauthorized staff tenure extensions.
“Out of these 247 workers, only eight appeared before the committee to confirm their employment status. The remaining 239 names have been flagged for deletion, resulting in a monthly savings of N27,824,395 for the government,” Idi stated.
Dr. Sani emphasized that the payroll cleanup exercise is not aimed at punishing workers but correcting systemic flaws. He assured that genuine workers and pensioners will benefit from a more transparent and efficient salary payment process moving forward.
The payroll verification exercise marks a significant step in the state’s ongoing efforts to tackle fraud, boost public sector efficiency, and protect state resources.
