By Terna Chikpa, Jalingo
The Taraba State Accountant General, Mr. Gaius Danjuma, has accused the state’s Payroll Verification Committee of insincerity, alleging that its findings and figures submitted to Governor Agbu Kefas were misleading and inaccurate.
In a statement released to journalists on Saturday, Danjuma said the committee had failed to provide the government with a truthful account of its investigations, insisting that several of the figures presented were exaggerated and did not align with official records.
He said the Accountant General’s office had reviewed an audio clip circulating on social media containing details of the committee’s report and discovered that much of the information was inaccurate.
“It is glaring that the committee is not ready to give the State Government a true picture of its findings. At the commencement of its task, it furnished the government with misleading information. For instance, the committee deliberately included the names of deceased persons and retirees—including a retired civil servant who is a member of the committee,” he stated.
Danjuma noted that contrary to the committee’s claim that 7,800 civil servants had not been paid, official payroll records showed 4,209 unpaid workers, while the committee’s own corrected figure stood at 4,049.
He clarified further that salaries of judges of superior courts are paid by the National Judicial Council, not the state government. Taraba State, he said, only pays rent supplement allowances and therefore could not have any retired judges on its salary payroll. He urged the committee to publish the names it claimed were still receiving payments.
The Accountant General also dismissed the claim that 1,410 employees cleared by the committee were denied salaries by his office, saying the delay resulted from Governor Kefas’ directive that the Auditor General harmonize and verify the final list before approval. He said the committee hurriedly submitted its own list while the harmonization was still ongoing.
Danjuma also denied the allegation that 7,357 ghost workers exist on the payroll, saying the matter had already been jointly investigated by the Auditor General, the Accountant General, and the committee.
He added that some of the names flagged as irregular were individuals legitimately employed in October 2025 across several ministries, departments, and agencies, including the House of Assembly Service Commission, Board of Internal Revenue, Ministry of Transport, College of Agriculture, College of Education, State Polytechnic, Health Services Management Board (HSMB), College of Health and Technology Takum, and the Ministry of Health.
According to him, the only proven payroll infraction was an overpayment incident discovered in July 2025, in which 21 officers received a total of ₦23,873,800 instead of the correct ₦3,473,866.68—an excess of ₦20,399,933.32. He alleged possible connivance between the committee and a consultant, noting that the electronic salary file “appeared to have been doctored” during upload.
Danjuma also accused the committee of hypocrisy, saying it falsely claimed that the governor approved the employment of only 14 staff at the State Polytechnic, but then went ahead to clear additional names beyond the approved figure.
He faulted the committee’s claim that only nine staff files were submitted by the Post Primary Schools Management Board (PPSMB), stating that an internal investigation revealed the board actually submitted the names and files of 1,080 staff.
The Accountant General further alleged that the committee failed to investigate memos submitted by the Health Services Management Board (HSMB), which he said contained approvals for staff replacements and backdated employments, contradicting the committee’s claim that all employment must be approved by the governor. He alleged that a special screening unit was created for HSMB to “take care of the interest of a particular senior civil servant.”
He urged the committee to “mount its searchlight on HSMB if they are sincere,” dismissing the list submitted as incomplete.
Efforts to reach members of the Payroll Verification Committee for their response were unsuccessful at the time of filing this report.
