Olushola Omogbehin
Gombe State Government has discovered 440 ghost workers from the state health sector, which has helped the government to save over N4.5 billion in wage bills.
Governor Yahaya who disclosed this on Thursday at the maiden Gombe State Health Summit held at the Gombe International Conference Centre said the measure was part of wider reforms to reposition the state’s health sector which has been in poor condition since 2019 when he became governor.
The fraud according to him, was exposed after the government introduced a biometric attendance system across health facilities, a move he said was aimed at curbing absenteeism and strengthening accountability.
“In order to eliminate ghost workers and reduce absenteeism, we introduced a biometric attendance system, exposing about 440 ghost workers and saving over N4.5 billion.
“From revitalising our primary healthcare centres to modernising secondary facilities and establishing contributory health and pharmaceutical schemes, our vision has been to create a seamless, comprehensive healthcare ecosystem for Gombe,” Yahaya said.
The Governor also announced the implementation of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure in Nigeria (CONMESS) as well as the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) for health workers in Gombe State. He said this will place them side by side with their federal counterparts at an annual cost of N3 billion.
The summit which drew participants from development partners, donor agencies and health professionals. was declared open by Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu,
