Mirian Gom 
GOMBE, Nigeria – Gombe State Governor Muhammadu Yahaya says his administration has uncovered 440 ghost workers in the state’s health sector payroll, saving the government more than N4.5 billion.
Speaking at the maiden Gombe State Health Summit on Thursday, Yahaya explained that the fraud was detected following the introduction of a biometric attendance system across hospitals and clinics.
“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 said at the Gombe International Conference Centre.
The governor said the measure was part of ongoing reforms to revitalise the health sector, which he described as “in a deplorable state” when he assumed office in 2019.
“From strengthening primary healthcare to modernising hospitals and introducing contributory health schemes, our vision is to build a seamless and sustainable healthcare system for Gombe,” he added.
In a related case, Katsina State recently uncovered 3,488 unqualified and ghost workers in its local government councils and education boards. Governor Dikko Radda said the purge, which followed a biometric screening of 50,000 staff, was necessary to “sanitize the payroll system and save the state from waste.”
Both states say the crackdowns represent a wider push to strengthen accountability, end payroll fraud and ensure public funds are channelled to critical services.
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Hussaini Ibrahim 
Chukwu Obinna