Rivers State uncovers mass pension fraud, age falsification in ministries

The Rivers State government, says it has uncovered 5000 fake pensioners as well as not less than 1,500 civil servants with more than one pay point, meaning that they were stealing from government by earning double salaries from different ministries.

The discovery which was as a result of the  recent biometric exercise on civil servants and pensioners as directed by Governor Nyesom Wike, also revealed that no fewer than 11, 000 civil servants who forged their age in service. 

These details were made public by the Senior Special Assistant to the State Governor on Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Mr. Ibifuro Asawo, in Port Harcourt, on the activities of his department in the past two years.

Asawo explained that the new policy of the Wike administration was to ensure that all sectors were driven by ICT to inject transparency and accountability in the system.

“We plan to synergise and link all ministries, departments and parastatals for the ease of doing business in the state,” he emphasised.

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On the new policy of government to run an ICT-driven administration, the governor’s aide said that the new automated public service system was such that no civil servant can cut corners.

“What we have done now is such that we know how many people will be retiring each month and at each quarter, and so, nobody can short-change government”, Asawo noted.

The plan in the upcoming months, according to Asawo, is to move down to the grassroots, stressing, “We plan to cover the 23 local government areas. Our vision is to encourage them to invest in ICT because that is the way to go now.”

Currently, he revealed that the ICT department has covered all health institutions in the state through an automated and integrated system.

“Everything we are doing now is going digital. So, if you go now to the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital, doctors are now using the system to register patients and keep records for easy tracking and retrieval.”

The next step, he revealed, is to capture all health facilities and professionals online. This, he said, will curb quackery.

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