Nigeria's 40,000 Ghost Workers

2 days ago, Nigeria’s Information Minister, Labaran Maku addressed a press conference and declared that the Government had uncovered over 40,000 ghost workers from 215 Ministries Departments and Agencies.
According to Maku, the Government has successfully recovered 118.9billion (almost USD1billion)  from the said ghosts but would take time to investigate how they gained access into the nation’s payroll.
Simple Advice: Follow the money! It is a good first step that part of the money has been recovered, it will also be very important to tighten loose ends, it seems as if the nation’s resources is leaking in several places; and prosecute those who have been a drain to the nation’s leaking.
When the punishment for corruption is a slap on the wrist, do expect that many more people will find it attractive and jump on the boat.
By the way, the 40,000 ghost workers are definitely not just members of the ruling party alone. They are part of the everyday Nigerians!
Just imagine that director x apart from collecting his monthly take home pay also pockets cash for 50 ghost workers, then it won’t be surprising that we will have over 68,000 households in Abuja with expenditures above USD150,000
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Rotimi Olawale is co-founder of youthhubafrica.org. He travels extensively across the continent and beyond. He works  mainly from home, prides himself as an amateur photographer and frequently consults for local and international organisations including the UN, World Bank and the African Union. Catch him on twitter Follow @rotexonline