The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it has uncovered 1,000 ‘ghost’ workers on the payroll of the Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board.
The Head of the Ilorin zonal office of the commission, Isyaku Sharu, who disclosed this at a media briefing in Ilorin on Thursday, said a Permanent Secretary and a director in the services of the Kwara State Government had been arrested and were being detained over the scam.
Sharu explained that the discovery of the ‘ghost’ workers prompted the arrest of the two senior government officials, adding that the workers were allegedly smuggled onto the SUBEB payroll.
“The EFCC in the zone has uncovered about 1,000 ‘ghost’ workers smuggled onto the payroll of the Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board,” he said.
Sharu added that the anti-graft agency made additional recovery of N138m from suspected treasury looters in the state.
He said the EFCC had earlier handed over N374m recovered loot to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on two occasions.
Other achievements of the zone even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Sharu, include the discovery of N159m allegedly diverted by 16 embattled local government chairmen, which were traced to their personal accounts, adding that some of them had started making refunds.
Sharu stated, “The EFCC in the zone has also uncovered the diversion of about N750m from the Light Up Kwara Project in which about N72m was used to purchase a property in the Guzape area of Abuja.
“It also secured the interim forfeiture of a residential building located at No. 17 and 27A McDonald Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, with a conservative value of N2bn belonging to a top politician, and another residential building located at No. 10 and 11 AbdulKadir Street, GRA, Ilorin, belonging to the same politician, with a conservative value of N1.5bn.”
