The Kano State Government has uncovered irregularities in its payroll system, with 240 employees reportedly receiving double salaries and 217 others sharing the same Bank Verification Number (BVN).
Dr. Sulaiman Wali Sani, Special Adviser to the Governor on Civil Service Matters and Chairman of the State Coordinating Committee, disclosed this at a press briefing in Kano on Sunday.
Speaking on behalf of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Sani said the discrepancies were discovered during a biometric verification exercise aimed at sanitizing the state’s civil service.
According to him, the anomalies were identified through reviews conducted by two standing committees — one overseeing the state payroll and another handling local government payrolls.
“The inherited flaws in the payroll system have remained a concern for the government. We discovered that 240 employees are drawing double salaries, while 217 individuals share the same BVN,” he said.
Sani further revealed that 1,335 employees had failed to present themselves for verification for over six months, raising additional concerns about the authenticity of names on the payroll.
Also speaking, Chairman of the Local Government Payroll Standing Committee, Alhaji Umar Idi, said an audit uncovered 247 questionable names on the local government and primary healthcare payrolls.
Idi explained that only eight out of the 247 individuals appeared before the committee to verify their employment status.
“The removal of the remaining 239 names has resulted in a monthly saving of N27.8 million, which will now be credited to the joint account of the state and local governments,” he added.
Sani assured that the ongoing verification exercise was not punitive but aimed at ensuring genuine workers and pensioners receive their full entitlements without arbitrary deductions.
He noted that since assuming office, Governor Abba Yusuf’s administration had prioritized prompt salary payments and eliminated informal deductions from workers’ wages.
“The payroll cleansing will enhance transparency and efficiency in salary administration,” Sani stated.
He emphasised that the government would continue working with relevant stakeholders to address all anomalies and restore credibility to the civil service.
