Gombe State Governor, Muhammadu Yahaya, has announced that his administration uncovered and removed about 440 ghost workers from the state’s health sector payroll, saving the government more than N4.5 billion.
The governor made this known on Thursday during his address at the maiden Gombe State Health Summit held at the Gombe International Conference Centre.
According to him, the fraud was exposed following the introduction of a biometric attendance system across health facilities, a measure he said was designed to curb absenteeism and strengthen accountability.
“In order to eliminate ghost workers and reduce absenteeism, we introduced a biometric attendance system, exposing about 440 ghost workers and saving over N4.5 billion,” Yahaya revealed.
He noted that the measure is part of a broader reform agenda aimed at revitalising the state’s health sector, which was in a poor state when he assumed office in 2019.
“From revitalising our primary healthcare centres to modernising secondary facilities and establishing contributory health and pharmaceutical schemes, our vision has been to create a seamless, comprehensive healthcare ecosystem for Gombe,” the governor said.
