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| Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun |
The Federal Government,
through the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, summoned the managing
director of a first generation bank to Abuja on Friday in connection with the alleged
salary fraud in the civil service.
The
Punch report continues:
The
Director-General, National Pension Commission, Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, was also on
Thursday seen at the ministry of finance in what sources said was a summon by
the minister.
A
source, who disclosed this, said it was part of the ongoing
investigation of the 23,000 potential ghost workers in the federal civil
service.
The
source said the bank headed by the affected MD was fingered as one of the
channels used for the salary fraud which is currently being investigated.
Although
details of the discussion with the officials of the finance ministry were not
made public, sources told our correspondent that the bank MD pledged to
cooperate with the probe panel on the salary scam.
The
sources added that Adeosun had vowed to enlist the support of PenCom to
investigate the activities of some Pension Fund Administrators alleged to have
played some roles in the organized salary scam. It was in view of this, reporters learnt, that the PenCom boss was summoned.
It
was learnt that Anohu-Amazu was invited for a meeting with the probe panel
where she was shown proofs that some PFAs might have colluded with some civil
servants to perpetrate the scam.
According
to the source, some of the PFAs were alleged to have generated fake PFA numbers
for the “ghost workers.”
As
such, the finance minister was said to have promised to launch a high-powered
probe into the activities of PFAs and bring to book those found wanting.
Saturday
PUNCH also learnt that representatives of the Association of Senior Civil
Servants of Nigeria equally met with the finance minister and top officials of
the ministry on Thursday for an update on the ongoing probe of the salary scam.
The
ASCSN members were said to have expressed shock and disbelief at the sheer
weight of evidence against certain categories of civil servants, financial
institutions and PFAs alleged to have ripped off the Federal Government through
the coordinated salary scam.
According
to the source, the representatives of the labour union who had stormed the
meeting suspecting a witch- hunt or deliberate plans by the Federal Government
to reduce the staff strength, were taken aback when they were confronted with
evidence that showed that certain categories of people had been drawing salary
whereas their names were not on the nominal staff register of the federal civil
service.
The
source said in order to allay the fears of the workers’ union that the exercise
was not intended to lay off workers arbitrarily; the finance minister showed
the union officials some documents generated by the probe panel so far.
These,
according to the source, included letters written to some ministries and
parastatals for information on personnel cost.
When
contacted, the Special Adviser to the Minister of Finance on Media Matters, Mr.
Festus Akanbi, said investigation into the potential 23,000 ghost workers in
the federal civil service is ongoing and that various investigative agencies,
including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had been briefed on the
matter.
He
declined to speak on the summoning of the bank MD and the PENCOM boss, but
promised to open up at the end of the investigation.
The
minister had blown the lid on the monumental salary scam in the civil service
when she appeared before the Senate Committee on Finance to defend her
ministry’s budget last week.
She had revealed that the
Bank Verification Number and Integrated Payroll Personnel Information System
had helped the Federal Government to discover 23,000 ghost workers in the civil
service.
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