Outstanding Salary: Ekiti Govt To Screen Workers Before Payment

Special Assistant to the state governor on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, said verification of 48,977 workers in the Ekiti State public service is expected to begin tomor­row and last till next week Monday, while payment of April salary would be­gin on Wednesday. This was made known in a release issued yesterday. Olayinka said the verification exer­cise was aimed at block­ing close to N500 million being lost to ghost work­ers monthly through the e-payment system contract­ed to a private company by the immediate past admin­istration in the state. The governor’s aide disclosed that April salary would be paid as workers are verified, adding that: “Those insinuating that the verification exercise was meant to delay pay­ment of April salary are just playing cheap politics because the arrangement is such that the moment veri­fication is concluded on daily basis, salary of those cleared will be paid. “The implication of this is that those verified on Tuesday, May 12 will re­ceive their April salary on Wednesday, May 13, while those verified on Wednes­day will get this salary on Thursday. “By Friday, May 14, 70 per cent of the workers would have received their April salary.” On how the exercise would be carried out, Olayinka said: “From Tuesday to Wednesday, staff of core Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), Health Management Board (HMB) and six lo­cal councils will be veri­fied at designated venues. “The six local councils to be verified on Tuesday and Wednesday are Ado, Efon, Ekiti East, Ekiti South West, Moba and Oye while staff of Ise/ Orun, Ikere, Emure, Ekiti West, Ido/Osi, Ikole, Il­ejemeje and Irepodun/If­elodun, Gbonyin and Ijero will be verified on Thurs­day and Friday.”