Bayelsa has become the latest Nigerian State to uncover mass fraud among members of its Public Service.
Chair of the Bayelsa State Civil Service Commission, Peter Singabele (pictured) said the Commission had discovered an employment racketeering syndicate involving fake appointment letters to the Public Service.
Dr Singabele said the Government had smashed the syndicate which had been run by existing Government workers.
He said the investigation began following reports of the sale of employment letters involving Public Servants between August 2018 and January 2020 under the administration of former Governor, Seriake Dickson.
“Such fraudulent acts constitute an act of serious misconduct against Public Service rules and culprits and workers who entered the Civil Service through the back door will be sanctioned appropriately,” Dr Singabele said.
“Two Civil Service Commission workers were discovered to be part of the employment scam and have been handed over for punishment,” he said.
Dr Singabele said investigations had revealed that as many as 600 people may have entered the Public Service through the scam.
“The fake employment syndicate scanned the signatures of Governor Dickson and the Commission’s Permanent Secretary as well as forging the Commission’s letterhead,” he said.
Also revealed in the investigation was that church premises were used for the production of some of the forged documents.
“We have also discovered that one or two persons in the State Treasury may be involved. Otherwise, how does somebody with a fake appointment letter get onto the payroll of the State?” Dr Singabele said.
The investigation is part of a nationwide crackdown on fraud and corruption in the various States of Nigeria ordered by Federal President Muhammadu Buhari.
Yenagoa, 7 July 2020
