A quiet administrative exercise in Taraba has turned into a tug of war after the state’s staff verification report triggered sharp disagreement between the verification committee and the Office of the Accountant General.
The report, which Governor Agbu Kefas earlier described as “exhaustive, transparent and courageous,” was meant to clean up the state’s bloated wage bill. Instead, it has opened a new chapter of controversy.
The verification committee, led by Alhaji Abdulkadir Haruna, said its investigation uncovered widespread gaps in the civil service structure. Haruna explained that out of about 7,800 workers initially flagged, only 1,410 were cleared after what he called rigorous screening. He said the cleared workers should be returned to the payroll immediately and paid all outstanding entitlements.
He also highlighted what he termed troubling discoveries, noting that some workers allegedly received millions of naira in a single month. According to him, several names on the payroll had no appointment letters, postings or documentation linking them to government service. The committee recommended urgent automation of the payroll to close the loopholes and prevent future discrepancies.
But the Accountant General’s office pushed back strongly, disputing several of the claims. It argued that the committee’s figures were inflated, stating that the actual number of unpaid workers was 4,049 in the official payroll system, not 7,800. It also said judges’ salaries are handled by the National Judicial Council, dismissing the committee’s comment about retired judges allegedly appearing on the state payroll. The office challenged the committee to publish any such names.
It also rejected the committee’s claim that 1,410 cleared workers had been denied pay, explaining that the governor asked the Auditor General to harmonise the list before final approval. The office insisted the committee was hasty in pushing its list forward.
On the allegation of 7,357 ghost workers, the Accountant General’s office said the matter had already been resolved jointly. It added that some of the names on the payroll were legitimately approved for employment by the governor across various ministries and agencies.
The office further denied that any worker received over one million naira in overpayment in October 2025. It acknowledged, however, that in July 2025 an overpayment of N20.4 million occurred across 21 officers. It suggested the error pointed to possible collusion involving the verification committee and a consultant.
The response also accused the committee of inconsistencies, saying it cleared more workers than those approved by the governor. It claimed the committee included deceased persons and retirees in its submissions and did not thoroughly examine employment memos from the Health Services Management Board. According to the office, only 508 unpaid staff had valid claims, far below the 1,410 the committee reported.
