We believe that the present administration of Governor Dauda Lawal, Commissioner for Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Malam Wadatau Madawaki have the feelings of Zamfara people, and we are sorry for our wrong doing
In response to the Zamfara State Ministry of Education, Science and Technology’s discovery of 207 absentee teachers and subsequent suspension of their wages for a period of three months due to their truancy, the teachers have written to the government to express their regret for their mistakes.
The Commissioner for Education, Science, and Technology, Malam Wadatau Madawaki, conveyed to the press that the Ministry of Education had identified 207 teachers who had been absent from their duties.
This discovery came after a verification committee was established to identify genuine teachers working in secondary schools. The government’s goal was to improve the welfare and working conditions of these teachers.
Madawaki said that truancy-related convictions of the teachers cause them to go viral on Internet and falsely accuse the government of unfairly cutting their pay.
Madawaki said, “At the end of the committee exercise, they discovered some of the teachers absconding their classes of teaching at different stages, while some are attending classroom for only few days in a week, others are found to be working in two places receiving salaries every month.
“The teachers on their own decided after realising their mistakes, gathered today at the Ministry of Education where they respectively apologised in writing, seeking favour of the state Governor Dauda Lawal and the Education ministry over their offences.
After being asked to put a stop to the situation, Madawaki stated that he would send the letters of apology to the Governor of the state and made an appeal to him.
Nafisa Isah and Malam Abubakar, who were speaking on behalf of other teachers, pleaded with the state administration to forgive them for the conduct that they had committed.
They said, “We believe that the present administration of Governor Dauda Lawal, Commissioner for Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Malam Wadatau Madawaki have the feelings of Zamfara people, and we are sorry for our wrong doing.”
IREPORT247NEW reported that Zamfara state Governor Dauda Lawal constituted a committee headed by the state Head of Service in August 2024 with the mandate to conduct the verification exercise of state workers.
Statement by the governor’s spokesman, Sulaiman Idris, revealed that the verification process exposed 220 minors receiving monthly pay as civil servants.
The statement noted that the verification exercise was necessary due to the state government’s efforts to implement the N70,000 minimum wage.
Idris said, The committee’s final report submitted to Governor Dauda Lawal highlighted that 27,109 permanent workers were cleared while workers with questionable employment include 2,363 ghost workers, 1082 civil servants who are due for retirement, 395 contract staff, 261 not on the nominal roll, 213 people on study leave, 220 minors in employment, and 67 workers on secondment.
During the verification, 2,363 ghost workers were exposed. They were been paid a total sum of N193,642,097.19 every month.
1082 workers are due for retirement, and they receive a total sum of N80,542,298.26 monthly. At the same time, five workers found to be on secondment were paid monthly N354,927.60.
The verification committee recommended suspending 207 workers who were not cleared. They are paid a total salary of N16,370,645.90 monthly, the committee found 12 workers names on the payroll but not in the database and they received a monthly salary of N726,594.
These verification exercises are ongoing efforts to monitor the Zamfara state workforce and ensure transparency and accountability in service, especially as the minimum wage payments begin in March 2025
According to him most of the ghost workers are mainly in the health sectors and educational sectors, and the verification is still ongoing in the state.