The Minister of Finance,‎ Mrs Kemi Adeosun, has confirmed that nearly 23,000 ghost workers have been uncovered by a panel probing multiple salary payments in the federal civil service.

Speaking at a budget defense session in the Senate, the Finance Minister said that those people involved in the fraud would soon be handed over to Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).She explained that the panel was able to uncover the ghost workers because of the introduction of the bank verification number (BVN).

The BVN was in response to the failure of the Integrated Payroll Personnel Information System (IPPIS) to effectively deal with the issue of ghost workers in the federal civil service.

The Minister also disclosed that the ministry has barred government agencies from spending money for service wide votes. Members of the Senate committee had earlier expressed reservations about the management of the service wide votes.

The Finance Minister also hailed the introduction of the Treasury Single Account (TSA), saying it exposed revenue generating agencies who declared revenue far less than what they were generating. As part of effort to make sure the government function well and is free of unworthy spendings the BVN is really a good way to checkmate such workers