Biometric audit exposes fraudulent civil servants, pensioners in Rivers

Biometric audit exposes fraudulent civil servants, pensioners in Rivers

Saturday, February 22, 2020 12:31 am


Wike

Over 11,000 Rivers Civil Servants involved in age forgery
Over 1,500 receiving multiple salaries 
..Over 5,000 fake Pensioners uncovered
Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt

The Rivers Government has said that the  biometric exercise carried out on workers and pensioners on its payroll as directed by Governor Nyesom Wike has uncovered no fewer than11, 000 civil servants who forged their age in service.

The government said it also discovered no less than 1,500 civil servants with more than one pay point, meaning that they were stealing from the government by earning double salaries from different ministries.
The biometric exercise also led to identification of about 5,000 fake pensioners.
According to TheTide, the Rivers Government owned newspaper, the details of the revelations from the biometric exercise were made public by the Senior Special Assistant to the State Governor on Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Mr. Ibifuro Asawo, during a chat with newsmen, last Monday in Port Harcourt.
Asawo explained that the new policy was to ensure that all sectors were driven by ICT to inject transparency and accountability in the system.
“We plan to synergise and link all ministries, departments and parastatals for the ease of doing business in the state,” he emphasised.
On the new policy of ICT-driven administration, the governor’s aide said that the new automated public service system was such that no civil servant can cut corners.
“What we have done now is such that we know how many people will be retiring each month and at each quarter, and so, nobody can short-change government”, Asawo noted.
The plan in the upcoming months, according to Asawo, is to move down to the grassroots, stressing, “We plan to cover the 23 local government areas. Our vision is to encourage them to invest in ICT because that is the way to go now.”
Currently, he revealed that the ICT department has covered all health institutions in the state through an automated and integrated system.
“Everything we are doing now is going digital. So, if you go now to the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital, doctors are now using the system to register patients and keep records for easy tracking and retrieval.”
The next step, he revealed is to capture all health facilities and professionals online. This, he said, will curb quackery.

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