How I still get paid as a civil servant in Nigeria, UK cab driver confesses

Despite leaving Nigeria for the UK two years ago, Sabitu Adams gets paid each month as a junior official at a government agency back home. Adams, who now works as a taxi driver in the UK, had his name changed by a BBC report to protect his identity. The taxi driver has yet to resign from his job in Nigeria. Adams is one of the thousands of ghost workers, a rampant issue in the Nigerian civil service. Each year, the government carries out biometric verifications and reels out numbers representing discovered ghost workers, and money saved. But no one is ever announced to have been arrested or prosecuted. Last week, President Bola Tinubu directed that all civil servants drawing salaries from the government after relocating abroad should be made to refund the money. Tinubu also ordered that the culprits’ supervisors and department heads be punished for aiding and abetting the fraud while they were in charge. Adams told the BBC that he was not worried about the president’s directives because he earned better as a taxi driver in the UK. “When I heard about the president’s directive, I smiled because I know I am doing better here – and not worried,” the 36-year-old said. The cab driver said he did not resign “in case I choose to go back to my job after a few years”. Adams was quoted as saying he had an arrangement with his boss in Nigeria who is a “relative”.

How Lawyers, Civil Servant, Asabe Waziri Secured Police Covering To Invade Property

Despite court order, a civil servant, Ms. Asabe Waziri, a staff member of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, and her lawyers, Chukwudi Prince Oli and C. J. Abengowe of Oli and Partners went ahead to secure covering from the Nigeria police to invade a property situated at No 1, Mekong Close, Maitama, Abuja. Findings revealed that the police are still occupying the property, as at the time of filing this report. Despite being aware of the court order barring them from having anything to do with the property, Asabe and her lawyers secured services of the police to give them cover to take over the property. Justice Mohammed Madugu of the High Court of Justice of the Federal Capital Territory had ordered Asabe Waziri not to go near the property pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit. Justice Madugu had ordered “upon reading the Motion on Notice” along with the accompanying affidavit of Yinka Bariwa, including the written address filed along with the application. And upon hearing A.V GANI (Esq) Counsel for the Claimant/Applicant. “Court hereby makes the following order(s): leave of this court is granted to the Clamant/Applicant for an interlocutory injunction restraining the 1sy Defendant/Respondent ( Asabe Waziri) from interfering. trespassing, disturbing the quiet possession of the Applicants or doing anything adverse to property described as a two (2) bedroom unit, of flat 3B and 3C, Abeh signature Apartments, 1, Mekong Close. Maitama Abuja FCT, pending the hearing of the substantive suit with Reference No: CV/3261/22” The absence of the judge yesterday stalled the hearing of the suit. The case has been adjourned to. March 27, 2024.

Defamation: Kannywood Actress Slams Defamation Suit Against Civil Servant

Kannywood actress Hadiza Aliyu, popularly known as Hadiza Gabon, has taken legal action against Bala Musa, a civil servant.  The lawsuit, filed in a Magistrates’ court on Daura Road, Kaduna, accuses Musa of defamation of character. Hadiza Gabon’s counsel, Mr. Mubarak Sani, stated that the actress had been subjected to negative reactions and comments from the public due to false allegations made by the defendant. These allegations included claims that she cheated Musa by accepting his money but refused to marry him, allegations that were proven false. Bala Musa, represented by his counsel, Mr. Naira Murtala, denied the allegations. The Chief Magistrate, Shamsudeen Sulaiman, inquired if the complainant’s counsel had witnesses, to which they responded affirmatively.  The Chief Magistrate granted bail to the accused under the condition that he must provide two reliable sureties who are residents of Kaduna State and civil servants. The case has been adjourned to November 15 to allow the complainant to present their witnesses. Bala Musa had previously filed a suit against Hadiza Aliyu in a Shari’a Court in March 2022, alleging that she had refused to marry him after he had given her N396,000.  Aliyu had denied any knowledge of Musa and stated that she had never met or spoken to him, disavowing any relationship with him. During the earlier case, it was revealed that four individuals were recipients of the money claimed to have been sent to the defendant.  Two of them, Fatima Abdullahi and Abdullahi Yusuf, confessed to impersonating the actress and receiving money in her name, pleading for forgiveness from the court. Following a request from Musa’s counsel to transfer the case to an Upper Sharia Court, the case was dismissed by Judge Isiyaku Abdulrahman on October 31, and Hadiza Aliyu was discharged. Additionally, the defendant’s counsel and client were ordered to pay N500,000 to the actress for wasting her time.

We Didn’t Request For N5bn Yacht- Presidency

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s spokesperson, Tope Ajayi, has clarified that the President did not request the N5 billion presidential yacht proposed by the Nigerian Navy. This statement comes in response to the public outrage following the revelation of the N2.1 trillion supplementary budget submitted by Tinubu to the National Assembly. The supplementary budget included an allocation of N5.09 billion for the yacht, N2.9 billion for sport utility vehicles for the Presidential Villa, and an additional N2.9 billion for the replacement of operational vehicles for the presidency. The yacht was listed as part of the Nigerian Navy’s proposed capital expenditure of N42.3 billion. Ajayi expressed doubts about whether President Tinubu actually needed a presidential yacht to perform the functions of his office, suggesting that the request for such an expenditure likely had operational reasons within the Navy. Furthermore, Ajayi highlighted the need for more accurate reporting and transparency in budget descriptions, emphasizing that budgetary provisions for the State House are often misconstrued, leading to misleading headlines. He urged for a better understanding of the purpose behind such budget items, which often encompass state events, meetings, hosting VIPs, foreign dignitaries, and more, rather than personal expenses for the President and Vice President.

N3m Salary Scam: Bauchi Civil Service sacks senior staff

The Bauchi State Civil Service Commission (BSCSC) has terminated the  appointment of Ibrahim Garba, Chief Secretarial Assistant attached to the State Pension Board over alleged “serious misconduct of salary and pension scam”. This is contained in  a statement by the Information Officer, BSCSC, Mr Saleh Umar in Bauchi.. The Commission alleged that Garba’s action violated the Public Service Rule (PSR) 0327(XI) which deals  with the issues of financial embezzlement. “The commission approved the termination during a sitting of the 17th plenary session held on August 1. “A disciplinary committee of the State Pension Board found Garba guilty of swapping the account number of one Audu Mohammed, now deceased, with his own. “This facilitated the change of pay point after the relatives of the deceased reported his death. “Thereafter, he received illegal pension for 55 months of N54,871 for four years and seven months which amounted to over N3 million. “This amount will be recovered from Garba’s benefits,” he said. He further explained that the chairman of the commission, Alhaji Abubakar Usman has called on workers in the state to be God-fearing in the discharge of their duties. He said the Public Service Rule (PSR) must be observed and adhered to as a guide The chairman assured the civil servants in the state that no worker will be victimised for nothing and the commission will not sit back and do nothing while bad eggs sabotage the service.