Bayelsa loses N24bn yearly to payroll frauds – Dickson

The Bayelsa State Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, has claimed that his administration loses about N24bn yearly to the activities of payroll frauds in the state.

Dickson also mentioned the deductions made at source, saying over N100bn had so far been paid by his government in the last four years on bonds and over-payments made to his predecessors.

He alleged that about N1.3bn went for bond deductions, while more than N1bn was deducted for over-payments, amounting to about N2.5bn per month.

The fraudsters, Dickson claimed, had perfected their acts through connivance with some financial institutions in the state.‎

The governor, who made the revelation on Monday during a live interview programme in Yenagoa, said that there had been a cabal over the years frustrating the government’s efforts in sanitising the workers’ payroll.

He expressed his administration’s determination to clean up the payroll of the workers, notinvg that government had devised a system of controlling the payment of salaries.

He, therefore, said all heads of ministries, departments, agencies and school principals had been directed to prepare nominal rolls and payroll vouchers.

Dickson noted that various heads of MDAs and principals would now be held responsible for any issue arising from their documents.

While lamenting the steady decline of the state’s revenue from the Federation Account and the poor internally generated revenue profile, Dickson said that the current system of payment of salaries was no longer sustainable.

He described the activities of the payroll fraudsters as a massive problem that had increased in proportion over the years.

On the payment of workers salaries, Dickson said his administration gave some options to the leadership of labour in the state, which included 70 per cent pro rata payment or 50 per cent across board for all civil servants.

On the ongoing strike by lecturers of the state-owned Niger Delta Delta University, Amassoma, the Governor said the NDU was also bedeviled by the problem of over-bloated workforce.

He claimed his government spends about N500m monthly as grant to the institution  since 2012.

He stated that the system whereby NDU spends the entire amount on salary payment was unsustainable, urging the institution’s management to be more innovative in generating revenue.

He also said efforts were on to ensure the payment of workers, noting that the government would introduce stringent measures aimed at checking absenteeism and other forms of indiscipline in the public service.

Source