The Niger state government has discovered a fake commissioner of agriculture in the pay roll of the state that has been receiving salaries for two years.
The state government has also sacked 80 civil servants for alleged gross misconduct.
The Head of Service, Mrs Salamatu Abubakar said the fraud was discovered during the recent verification exercise for all civil servants.
According to her, the 80 affected civil servants fraudulently paid themselves salaries above their level, adding that some of the other malpractices that were discovered were: an office messenger collecting the salary of a high court judge and a fake commissioner of agriculture getting paid for two years.
Mrs Abubakar said that the suspects were from different agencies and ministries, including health services management board, schools of nursing and health technology, primary health care development agency, ministries of health, education, judiciary and school of midwifery.
Haruna Dukku, the state commissioner of agriculture, said he is happy for the discovery.
“Somebody has been collecting the salary of the commissioner for agriculture in the last two years. The person makes it to look as if I am collecting double salary. What will I say if at the end of my tenure, the EFCC comes knocking and this thing has not been discovered before then? he said.
