Taraba State Governor Dr. Agbu Kefas on Wednesday dismissed claims of “ghost workers” in the state’s payroll, insisting the problem is one of improperly engaged staff rather than fictitious names siphoning public funds.
Speaking at a luncheon with journalists at the EXCO Chambers, TY Danjuma House, Jalingo, the governor said the ongoing staff biometric verification exercise is intended to cleanse the payroll and ensure only legitimately employed workers receive salaries. “I am convinced that there are workers who are not properly employed, but they are not ghosts,” he said. “Some names appear on paper but the people do not exist; others appear and disappear. We want to pay those actually working and clear pension liabilities.”
Kefas argued that resources were being wasted on irregular entries and that the biometric exercise will help redirect funds to bona fide staff and retirees. “I can’t eat anybody’s money. That’s the essence of the verification — to ensure things are done properly,” he said.
On education, the governor acknowledged the scale of the challenge facing his administration. Citing unreliable baseline data, he said the state has roughly 3,000 primary and 500 secondary schools — a backlog his government cannot finish addressing within a single term but will continue to tackle. He vowed to engage headmasters and principals and to reactivate Parent-Teacher Associations to fast-track repairs and improvements.
“My plan is to meet with headteachers and principals. I will release funds to teachers and mobilize parents and government to repair roofs, supply chairs and begin construction of new classrooms,” Kefas said, describing visits to dilapidated schools where office windows were missing and textbooks were dusty.
The governor also urged journalists to act as independent monitors of government projects across Taraba’s 16 local government areas. “As journalists, you must organise yourselves as monitoring teams,” he told the press. “When we give money for projects, you should monitor execution so stakeholders — parents, teachers, government — can be accountable.”
Responding to criticism about the performance of some political appointees, Kefas downplayed claims of non-performance as largely perceptual and called for a change of attitude among officials. He warned against sabotage of government projects, recounting an incident in which workers allegedly vandalised a transformer at the Presidential Lodge in Jalingo. “I don’t want to be harsh, but when I act and find wrongdoing, people will be held accountable,” he said.
The governor’s remarks come as his administration intensifies efforts to reform payroll management and scale up basic education interventions, pledging greater transparency and community involvement in both processes.
