Nigeria’s President Tinubu orders crackdown on ‘japa’ civil servants

So-called “ghost-working” is a major problem in Nigeria. Despite several crackdowns it is believed that thousands of non-existent workers are still being paid. There appear to be very few checks and balances in place.

But this is the first time it has been suggested that people who have moved abroad are continuing to be paid their salaries on a large scale.

Auwal Yakasai, who retired as a director in charge of finance at Kano state’s information ministry in 2021, said he had heard of such cases.

”To be honest I have never caught anyone red-handed,” Mr Yakasai, who worked for the government for 32 years, told the BBC.

“But I have heard numerous stories of such arrangements, where someone would still be receiving [a] salary after relocating or changing their place of work.”

Since he took office in May last year, Mr Tinubu has pledged to reduce the cost of governance and cut wastage.

In January, he directed that all official entourages to state and international events for himself and other government officials be slashed by 60%.

Nonetheless some have noted that there is much talk in Mr Tinubu’s administration without much action.

They cite plans to buy new planes worth millions of dollars for Mr Tinubu and his deputy Kashim Shettima as an example.

Another was when Mr Tinubu earlier this month launched a new official residence for Vice-President Shettima in the capital, Abuja, with a price tag of $13.6m (£11m).

And despite the president’s statement about the foreign ghost-workers, he did not say exactly what he was doing to crack down on them and take action against those responsible.