The Battle for Taraba Payroll Control

 

A widening rift between the Taraba State Accountant General's Office and the State Staff Verification Committee has plunged the government's payroll system into confusion, triggering delays in salary payments, anger among civil servants, and a growing scramble for control of the state's financial records. What began as a routine verification exercise has now escalated into a supremacy battle that raises deeper questions about transparency, legality, and who truly oversees the state's wage structure.

 

At issue is a fundamental dispute over where the payroll should properly be domiciled — the Office of the Accountant General or the Office of the Head of Service. The verification committee insists that employer records, staff files, and approval documents sit with the Head of Service and that payroll control must follow that structure. The Accountant General, however, argues that payroll is a core financial function constitutionally tied to his office and cannot be relocated without jeopardising accountability.

 

This disagreement has created a system effectively pulled in two directions, with each side issuing contradictory figures, conflicting reports, and allegations of manipulation.

 

Committee Details Widespread Abuses

During a briefing to Governor Agbu Kefas, the Verification Committee, chaired by Haruna Abubakar Abdulkadir, alleged that years of unchecked employment, file manipulation, and unauthorized staff additions had overwhelmed the payroll. Abdulkadir said the committee examined a list of 4,029 aggrieved civil servants but found that only 449 had previously been cleared and forwarded for payment, which the Accountant General's office allegedly refused to honour.

 

According to him, the committee discovered that many of the individuals listed had no files, no official postings, and no approvals from the Governor for engagement. "98 percent of the people they are claiming have no place of work," Abdulkadir said, accusing colleges, health boards, and agencies of employing far above the numbers approved by the Governor.

 

The committee also reported cases of alleged payroll fraud, including unapproved additions to the system, backdated employment memos, and suspected tampering with salary files. Abdulkadir claimed some individuals were overpaid by more than a million naira in October 2025 and insisted the committee was denied access to payroll data for three months — August, September, and October — raising suspicion of concealment.

 

He warned that unless decisive action is taken, "a time shall come when the state government cannot pay salaries at all."

 

The committee said 1,410 workers were duly cleared and recommended for immediate payment, while about 7,800 others were rejected for lacking files or legal backing.

 

The Accountant General's Office, in a comprehensive response, said most of the committee's claims were inaccurate and capable of inciting unnecessary tension among civil servants. It argued that the number of unpaid workers is closer to 4,049, not the 7,800 reported.

 

The office also clarified that judges' salaries are paid by the National Judicial Council, not the state, dismissing the committee's assertion that High Court judges were still on the payroll. It accused the committee of clearing names outside the Governor's approval, including cases in the State Polytechnic where approval was given for 14 new staff but the committee allegedly cleared 30 additional names.

 

In its rebuttal, the Accountant General also disputed claims that the Post Primary Schools Management Board submitted only nine staff files, stating that 1,080 files were made available for scrutiny. It said the committee ignored several genuine memos from the Health Services Management Board, including replacement approvals and confirmed employments.

 

The office acknowledged an overpayment in July 2025 involving 21 officers but denied the existence of any ₦1 million October overpayments. It also suspected "possible collusion between the committee and the consultant" after discovering that electronic salary files "appeared to have been doctored during upload."

 

Of the committee's so-called 1,410 cleared workers, the Accountant General's Office said its internal audit found that only 508 were genuinely unpaid, with others either already paid, retired, deceased, or carrying incorrect payroll information.

 

Workers Pay the Price

Caught between these competing claims are thousands of civil servants whose salaries remain in limbo. Despite official claims that hundreds have been cleared, no public list has been released. No SMS notifications have been sent. No verification portals have been opened. Those affected say they are operating in total darkness.

 

Many workers in far-flung local government areas are now forced to choose between spending scarce resources on transport to Jalingo or waiting indefinitely for an announcement that never comes. Rural staff in Sardauna, Kurmi, Gashaka, Takum, and Karim Lamido must travel between six and ten hours to the state capital just to check if their names are on any internal list.

 

"How do we know if we have been cleared?" a teacher from Sardauna asked. "If I travel eight hours and my name is not there, who will refund me?"

 

"No one has told us if we are among the 1,410 cleared. There is no official list anywhere," said a health worker from Kurmi LGA.

 

The confusion has bred frustration, and in recent days, individuals tagged as ghost workers stormed the TY Danjuma House demanding reinstatement and payment of four months' outstanding salaries. The protesters carried placards reading "Pay Us Our Salaries!" and "Four Months No Be Four Days!". They insisted that they completed the state verification exercise but were wrongly classified as ghost workers.

 

"We are not ghosts; we are humans with families to feed," one protester said.

 

Growing Public Concern

The contradiction between the committee and the Accountant General has created a governance crisis that now threatens public confidence in the state's financial management. Political observers warn that the standoff may deepen if the Governor does not clearly define which office has legal authority over payroll administration.

 

For now, civil servants remain the collateral damage of a technical dispute that has evolved into a turf war. With both sides insisting on their version of events, the state's wage system continues to wobble under conflicting memos, unclear directives, and delayed processes.

 

The payroll battle in Taraba is far from over, but one thing is clear: the longer it lasts, the more workers will suffer under a system they cannot influence and can barely understand.