The Delta State government says it has uncovered over 200 health workers who had emigrated abroad for greener pastures but are still on its payroll.
This was disclosed by the state’s Commissioner for Health, Dr. Joseph Onojaeme, during a chat with some journalists in Asaba, the state capital.
The vibrant social and political activist said the shocking discovery came after embarking on a staff audit of health institutions on the assumption of office, following a barrage of complaints from some quarters.
Onojaeme said the over 200 health staff included doctors, nurses, lab technicians and pharmacists, among others who had left their duty posts abroad, but are still drawing salaries via the connivance with some unscrupulous people.
According to him, the Delta State University Teaching Hospital, Oghara, in Ethiope West local Government Area of the state ranks top in the infraction.
The commissioner, who rose from Treasurer to Deputy Secretary of the Ughelli Chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), said after a thorough auditing of the staff, names discovered to be ghost workers were deleted from the government payroll.
He said the staff audit of health institutions revealed that a number of these health workers had relocated to foreign countries, but were still drawing salaries from the hospitals.
He, therefore, vowed to begin a process to recover the monies so illegally collected by the culprits back to the government’s purse.
“When I came on board, I called for auditing of staff, especially in DELSUTH because I got complaints.
“We found out that those number of staff were not in existence in the hospital. They don’t come to work.
“When we did a thorough investigation, we found out that a lot of them are abroad.
“We had to remove them from our payroll. That is to serve as a deterrent to others in the state.
“This is not only happening in Delta State alone, it’s happening everywhere, even in federal ministries.
“But in Delta, anybody caught will face severe sanctions. You cannot collect government money when you are not working for it. They will be made to refund the money.
“The major problem we have in the health sector is human resources. We employ 100 doctors today, within six months, only 50 are remaining.
“Some take up the job to gather funds and travel out. A lot of health workers now leave the country for abroad.
“You will discover that a lot of these workers: doctors, nurses, pharmacists, lab scientists, others, travelled abroad a few months after receiving employment letters from the government.
“Yet, they will still be receiving salaries in their respective hospitals. And they also receive foreign currencies in the countries where they work. This cannot be condoned,” he vowed.
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