Japa: HODs, supervisors of workers receiving salaries after relocating abroad must be sanctioned too, Tinubu orders

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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said civil servants who are still collecting salaries after relocating abroad should be sanctioned.

The Head of the Federal Civil Service, HoS, , Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan, recently revealed the strange discovery in the Federal Civil Service that concerned many Nigerians who were still drawing their salaries after relocating overseas.

President Tinubu has, however, ordered them to refund the wages they received during the period or face severe sanctions.

Tinubu spoke during the 2024 Civil Service Award and Gala Night held at the Continental Hotel in Abuja on Saturday.

He said also supervisors and department heads of the culprits must also be punished for aiding and abetting the fraud under their watch.

The President, who was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, stated that he was unhappy over the attitude of the “foreign based” ghost workers.

He said, “During my recent visit to South Africa, I kept abreast of the week’s activities.

“I was particularly struck by the revelations the Head of the Civil Service shared regarding employees who had relocated abroad while drawing salaries without formally resigning.

“It is heartening to hear that measures have been taken to address this issue, but we must ensure those responsible are held accountable and restitution is made.

“The culprits must be made to refund the money they have fraudulently collected.

“Their supervisors and department heads must also be punished for aiding and abetting the fraud under their watch.”

He said the Civil Service cannot be a workplace where “anything is possible and where workers violate rules without the fear of punishment or repercussions.”

Tinubu stressed that appropriate sanctions would be taken against the culprits and the money must be refunded to the government treasury.

Acvording to him, “The civil service of any nation is too important for such misconduct to take root or be tolerated.

“The Civil Service is the bedrock, the engine, the locomotive of government, which is necessary for the government to deliver public goods to citizens. As politicians, we are no more than drivers of the locomotives that you provide.”