From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja

Benue Governor, Samuel Ortom, has opened up on why the state has a monthly wage bill of  N7.9 billion.

Ortom said ghost workers and leakages are responsible for the bloated wage bill the state grapples with every month.

The governor, who made the disclosure, at the weekend, reiterated that while the state’s wage bill is currently N4.2 billion, that of local councils stands at N3.7 billion, monthly.

He said the administration has commenced comprehensive staff audit, which will last three months, to fish out ghost workers and remove personnel due for retirement, but are still on the payroll.

Ortom,  who  addressed State House Correspondents,  after a meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the staff audit would put government in a better position to pay salaries being owed workers at both the state and local government levels.

“You will recall that I declared state of emergency on payment of salaries and I want to have the capacity to pay salaries, as and when due  because a worker deserves his wage.

“We discovered that there were so many leakages on our payroll, ghost workers and infiltration here and there. I think a wage bill of over N3.2 billion is too much at the state level. Then, when you add pensions and gratuity,  you are talking about N4.2 billion; it is too much for Benue state. And, at the local government level,  you have a wage bill of N3.7 billion. So, if you are talking about N7.9 billion, for a state, it is not decent enough.

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“Ghost workers, those who were due for retirement are still in the service, those who are dead are still collecting salaries and all that. So, we believe that, at the end of the day, we will be able to scale down to a level where we will be able to pay salaries, as and when due.”

Ortom noted that his administration inherited a monthly wage bill of N8.2 billion from the administration of former governor Gabriel Suswam but reduced it to N7.9 billion, which he believes can be scaled down further.

The  governor explained that his administration is currently applying a modified table payment system which will last through the period of staff screening and added that no cash is involved in the system.

“You collect your money through the bank and we have already started making discoveries,” he added.

Ortom also expressed happiness with the the Federal Government’s flag-off of export of yams to the United Kingdom and the United States of America, and noted  that the move will boost government’s policy of diversifying the economy.

He disclosed that the state government and farmers would take full advantage of the yam export programme and other agriculture products such as sesame seeds and soybeans.

“Of course, chairman of yam exportation is from Benue State, a professor, from the Federal University of Agriculture in Benue and, we are deeply involved in it. We believe this is the way to drive the economy; diversifying it to agriculture and exporting it, earning hard currency will add value to our economic development,” he said.