The Zamfara State government has announced intentions to implement the new minimum wage while criticizing what it calls an alarming number of ghost workers in the state civil service.
Barrister Ahmad Liman, the State Head of Service, told reporters in Gusau that no one knows exactly how many civil servants the state has.
He went on to say that the majority of ghost workers are in the health and education sectors. According to him, the verification process is still ongoing.
The government official added that the verification process will be completed at the end of November 2024, after which a salary committee will be formed.
The HoS, who is also the Chairman of the Steering Committee on Verification Exercise, stated that the current administration in the state inherited several unresolved concerns from the previous government.
“It was discovered that the implementation of the 2019 minimum wage of N30,000 was faulty.
“As soon as the verification and salary committees submit their reports, the state government will implement the new minimum wage of N70,000.
The HoS said “We cannot implement a new minimum wage without knowing the number of civil servants in the state.”