Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule has approved the suspension of all the Directors of Personnel Management (DPMs) and Directors of Finance and Supplies (DFS) in the 13 Local Governments Areas in the state over the inflation of salary figures.
The spokesperson of the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Adamu Shigafarta, who made the announcement on Monday said the directive came through the Local Government Service Commission.
The suspension order, according to Shigafarta, affects the DPMs and DFS of the 18 development areas and will last for a period of three months.
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He explained that the council officials were suspended because they refused to work with the directive of the committee set up by the government to investigate the discrepancies and high wage bills incurred by the local governments.
Shigafarta said local government workers were audited over some abnormalities, adding that the government decided to use April 2012 payment vouchers to get to the root of the fraud.
Following the audit, it was discovered that the salaries skyrocketed from N1.1billion paid in 2012 to N1.3billion in 2020 despite the fact that there were no employment and promotions. During the period of the audit, people died, some retired, while others left for greener pastures.
“Local government council salaries in 2012 were N1.1 billion but now without employment and promotions from that period skyrocketed to N1.3 billion.
“The government had directed all councils to pay salaries using the 2012 vouchers but the directors of finance and supplies are said to have had declined which prompted the decision of the government,” Shigafarta added.