Kemi Adeosun, former Minister of Finance, has disclosed that the Federal Government uncovered about 45,000 ghost workers after integrating the Bank Verification Number (BVN) into its payroll system.
She made this known during a recent policy dialogue at the Citadel School of Government in Lagos, where she spoke on the role of technology in enhancing public sector efficiency.
Adeosun, who served under former President Muhammadu Buhari from November 2015 until her resignation in September 2018, explained that the government’s wage bill was its largest expenditure at the time, significantly affected by inefficiencies in the civil service.
According to her, earlier biometric reforms had failed to achieve results due to resistance from some agencies. However, the integration of BVN data provided a breakthrough.
“The payroll was our biggest cost. Previous biometric efforts stalled because paramilitary groups refused to cooperate. We bypassed this by using BVN data and ran the federal payroll against the BVN database. The result was staggering, we uncovered 45,000 ghost workers,” she said.
Adeosun clarified that many of the discrepancies were not always the result of organised fraud but often stemmed from weak systems and administrative lapses.
“In several cases, it wasn’t necessarily a ‘ghost worker’ but instances where one BVN was linked to multiple salary payments. Sometimes, individuals who had died or transferred were still on the payroll,” she added.
Using the BVN reform as a case study, Adeosun emphasised the importance of data-driven governance in improving transparency and accountability.
She noted that policies backed by credible data are more effective and easier to defend, urging public officials to adopt evidence-based approaches in decision-making.
“If you come armed with data, you can take on anybody. Data is hard to argue with,” she stated.
At the event, which also featured Tunde Bakare and Mike Adebamowo, Adeosun encouraged leaders to embrace emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence while maintaining the discipline required to implement reforms.
She also stressed the importance of clarity in policymaking, noting that leaders must be able to clearly articulate policies before implementation.
