The Niger State Government has announced that only genuine political appointees in the state will receive their salaries, following a comprehensive screening exercise currently being carried out. This was disclosed by the state’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Hon. Binta Mamman, during a press release in Minna.
According to Mamman, the screening exercise is mandatory for all political appointees under the administration of Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago.
The goal is to verify the legitimacy of political appointments made by the current government and to remove any fraudulent individuals who may have forged appointment letters.
The commissioner emphasized that this process would ensure only legitimate political appointees, such as commissioners, senior special advisers, special advisers, assistant special advisers, and coordinators, would remain on the payroll.
Hon. Binta Mamman explained that the state government had to take this step due to the discovery of numerous fake appointment letters issued by unidentified individuals.
“This screening is vital because it has been revealed that only 4,000 of the political appointees are genuine,” she said. The commissioner further explained that these fake appointments had cost the state a significant amount of money, draining the treasury of over N600 million in salaries that should have been used for developmental projects aimed at improving the lives of citizens.
The government had initially made these appointments as part of its strategy to reduce unemployment and provide opportunities for its citizens. However, the discovery of forged appointment letters has forced the government to rethink its approach. The screening process is expected to identify the genuine appointees and remove the fake ones from the payroll.
As a result of the ongoing screening, many appointees have yet to receive their September 2024 salaries. This delay is due to the government’s determination to thoroughly verify each appointee before resuming salary payments.
Recently, some of these political appointees staged a protest at the Government House in Minna over the delay in salary payments. However, Mamman stated that payments will only be made after the screening process is complete, ensuring that only authentic appointees are paid.
