Yenagoa – An accountant, Dr David Ala-Peter, has urged the Bayelsa State Government to sustain its concluded biometric verification of its workers for the betterment of the economy.
Ala-Peter, Chief Accountant in the office of the Special Adviser, Bayelsa State Treasury, Accounts and Revenue Department, gave the advice on Thursday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yenagoa.
He said that the state’s sustaining the verification would help it in its fight against ghost-worker syndrome in the state’s civil service.
“This biometric data capturing programme is one of the best that has been achieved by the present government to eliminate some ghost workers.
“The state government is now operating on database and it is the first in the history of Bayelsa. I believe the process is genuine and authentic because it captured details of every staff member.
“There is the need to move forward with global trend; so, I am urging both the Federal and the state governments to sustain the exercise.
“The exercise will not only give a total number of staff but also save the state the money it was paying to ghost workers as salaries,” he said.
NAN reports that the Bayelsa State Government had earlier this year, eliminated no fewer than 5, 000 ghost workers from its payroll after its biometric verification.
Ala-Peter said that the verification that covered no fewer than 50, 000 staff, was aimed at eliminating duplication of person’s name as well as reducing the state’s wage bill.
“The exercise was done using some software of international standard; I believe we can make a difference into the economy if we continue to put the right thing into the system.
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