199 of 280 doctors on state payroll are ghost workers – Matawalle

Governor Bello Mohammed Matawalle says his administration has found 199 ghost doctors on the payroll of the state government.

He said the state government was paying salaries for “280 doctors but there are 81 medical doctors” in the state in reality.

Matawalle made the disclosure in a chat with newsmen in his residence in Maradun town, the headquarters of Maradun Local Government Area of the state, adding that the  situation made it difficult to pay their monthly salary.

He said he had met with the state chapter of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) officials and other stakeholders on how to trace those 199 ghost doctors who spent long period of time collecting salary illegally with a view to correcting the anomaly.

“The the stakeholders confirmed to me that the motive behind the delay on the payment of salary to health workers was the fact that they wanted to ensure that things go right and we are going to address all the lacuna in the health sector very soon.

“I have paid both November and December salaries to all the health workers but unfortunately we discovered discrepancies on the way the salaries are being paid,” Matawalle said.

Matawalle explained that the discovery of the ghost doctors was as a result of the ongoing data capturing of all the state workforce through the office of the state Head of Service as part of the state government readiness to commence proper implementation of the N30,000 minimum wage to the state workforce.

He assured that no bona genuine servant would be retrenched by his administration as regards the implementation of the N30,000 minimum wage.

“I am not going to retrench any worker who is genuinely employed by the state government in that regard. In fact, I have built 450 houses for the state civil servants and I will hand over the houses to them on Sunday.

“But we are going to ensure sanity in the civil service according to the law so as to enable us implement the N30 thousand minimum wage accordingly,” he added.

He further hinted that his administration would redouble efforts to ensure healthcare delivery services to the entire citizens of the state if reelected for second term.

“We are going to work harder to make sure that effective improvement of healthcare delivery services to our people in my second term God Almighty willing,” Matawalle said.

On security issues, the governor said the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, had promised to establish gold refinery in Zamfara State.

He said it is parts of Tinubu’s plans to end insecurity in the state.

The governor said, “When I sat down with our presidential candidate, I said to him our problem in Zamfara state is armed banditry; what are plans to end the menace?

“He (Tinubu) said if they establish gold refinery in the state, those coming to take over the process will be the ones to design how best that investment can be protected and I agreed with him.”