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President Bola Tinubu has vowed to punish supervisors and heads of department approving salaries for 'Japa' workers under his watch.
He, therefore, directed that all civil servants drawing salaries from the government after relocating abroad to refund the money.
Tinubu spoke at the award night organised by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation to commemorate the 2024 Civil Service Week.
Represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, the President expressed sadness over the attitude of the ghost workers.
Tinubu said: “I am 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 reiterated that the government would take appropriate measures to ensure they were punished and the money refunded to the government treasury.
