Pandemonium broke out on Saturday at the Alfred Diette-Spiff Civic Centre, Port Harcourt, where thousands of local government workers had gathered for a long-running verification exercise.
Frustrated after days of waiting without being attended to, the workers—many of them nursing mothers, pregnant women, and sick persons—resorted to protest, creating a commotion at the venue.
The verification exercise, which began more than a month ago, is part of the state government’s reforms to cleanse the payroll of ghost workers. But the slow pace and logistical lapses have left many workers stranded.
Several of those at the civic centre said they had travelled from different local government areas to Port Harcourt to avoid being labelled ghost workers and struck off the payroll.
“Because the Sole Administrator will soon be leaving and he will close this exercise, many of us had to leave everything we were doing to come here to verify. If we fail, it may take a long time before we would be paid. Right now we have not collected our August salaries because of the verification exercise,” said one woman, who claimed she had been at the centre for three days.
Another worker, visibly exhausted, added, “Many people slept here waiting for the officials to come. Look at the time today—it’s midday—yet we have not been attended to. Frustration is taking over many people here.”
Most of the workers declined to give their names for fear of victimisation.
Two weeks ago, the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (Rtd), disclosed that the verification exercise had uncovered over 12,000 ghost workers among civil servants and pensioners. He also announced that the state saved more than ₦5 billion in August alone through payroll reforms.
According to him, the exercise exposed multiple salary collection, fictitious employment, and even deceased retirees who still featured on the payroll. “This reform is not about punishing genuine workers but about ensuring that only those who are legitimately employed by the government are on the payroll. Every naira saved will be channeled into infrastructure, healthcare, education, and other critical sectors,” he said.
Ibas further revealed that civil servants cleared in the first phase of the exercise had received their August salaries, while those with discrepancies were undergoing further scrutiny. He outlined broader reforms, including:
An upward review of salaries and allowances for Heads of MDAs to reduce the gap with political office holders.
The implementation of a new ₦85,000 minimum wage at the local government level.
An increase in monthly pension allocations from ₦2 billion to ₦2.6 billion.
The enrolment of verified pensioners, both local and abroad, in the state’s contributory health scheme.
The exercise, scheduled to end on September 4, comes ahead of the restoration of Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the House of Assembly, both suspended in March when a six-month state of emergency was declared in Rivers.
So far, only 37,703 out of 43,000 civil servants have been verified, while 19,186 pensioners out of 25,000 cleared the process. At the local government level, government claimed that 8,000 staff across seven LGAs—including Obio/Akpor, Bonny, Etche, and Degema—had been verified.
On gratuities and death benefits, Ibas admitted the situation remained “deeply regrettable,” saying arrears could only be settled up to March 2025 because of discrepancies in records. He added that investigations had begun into an overpayment of ₦117 million discovered in March. “There must be consequences. Such malpractice is a crime against colleagues whose bereaved families are left in pain and penury,” he warned.
For now, however, the human toll of the verification exercise—especially the sight of weary workers camping at the civic centre for days—remains a stark reminder of the cost of reform on ordinary lives.
