Bauchi State has revealed that more than 100 individuals listed on its health payroll—so-called “ghost workers”—have been uncovered, and will face disciplinary action under civil service rules, the state government announced on Thursday.
At a press conference in Bauchi, Mr. Sambo Alkali, Executive Chairman of the Bauchi State Hospital Management Board, confirmed the findings. “We are currently working on a verification exercise to fish out all those ghost workers people have been talking about. Recently, we have done it in our five facilities, and we came up with more than 100 ghost health workers whose names will ultimately be submitted to the governor,” he said.
Alkali also detailed efforts underway to address staffing shortages, especially among medical doctors. He revealed that over 40 doctors—including consultants and medical officers—have been recruited under a new scheme approved by Governor Bala Mohammed. “What we are doing in Bauchi to curtail the issue of shortage of doctors, which is a global issue, is that the governor has approved a scheme which is giving us a beautiful result,” Alkali added.
As part of its reform measures, the state is conducting a “comprehensive gap analysis” of health facilities to boost service delivery. Additionally, the governor has directed the development of a healthcare scheme of service intended to reconcile the salaries of state health workers with those paid by the federal government.
The Health Commissioner, Muhammed Dambam, affirmed that Governor Mohammed remains committed to collaborating with relevant agencies to combat child malnutrition through Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) initiatives, and to enhance the State’s Drugs and Medical Consumables Agency, which will receive ₦250 million this year as part of increased funding.
