The Bauchi State Government says it has uncovered more than 100 ghost workers in the state’s health sector and vowed to punish those involved in line with civil service rules.
The Executive Chairman of the Bauchi State Hospital Management Board, Mr. Sambo Alkali, disclosed this at a press conference in Bauchi on Thursday. He said the names of the identified ghost workers would soon be forwarded to Governor Bala Mohammed for appropriate action.
“We are currently carrying out a verification exercise to fish out ghost workers. Recently, in five of our facilities, we discovered more than 100 ghost health workers whose names will be submitted to the governor,” Alkali said.
He added that the state government had introduced a scheme to address the shortage of doctors, which remains a global challenge. Under the scheme, more than 40 doctors, including consultants and medical officers, have been engaged and strategically deployed across health facilities.
According to Alkali, the governor also directed a comprehensive gap analysis to improve service delivery and mandated the state health committee to develop a healthcare scheme of service aimed at equating state health workers’ salaries with those of their federal counterparts. He said the plan was nearing completion and would soon be presented for approval.
Also speaking, the Commissioner for Health, Muhammed Dambam, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to tackling malnutrition in the state. He said the administration would collaborate with partners to establish Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) facilities to combat child malnutrition.
Dambam further disclosed that the state government had pledged to recapitalise the Drugs and Medical Consumables Agency with N250 million this year, the same amount allocated in 2024.
