Recruitment Policy Failure and the Persistence of Ghost Worker Syndrome in Sub-National Civil Services: Evidence from the Kogi State Civil Service, Nigeria (2015-2025)

Abstract

Payroll fraud through the fraudulent retention of fictitious, deceased, retired or duplicated personnel on government payrolls commonly termed “ghost worker syndrome” remains one of the most persistent threats to fiscal integrity in Nigeria’s sub-national governments. This article examines the relationship between recruitment policy design and implementation, on one hand, and the regeneration of ghost workers in the Kogi State Civil Service, on the other, over the period 2015–2025. Drawing on a mixed-methods dataset of 653 respondents across ten Ministries, Departments and Agencies, supplemented by documentary evidence from the state’s 2016 staff verification exercise, the study finds that recruitment channels lacking standardised verification checklists, biometric confirmation at entry, and centralised real-time databases constitute the principal structural pathway through which fictitious personnel enter the payroll. Chi-square and correlation analyses confirm statistically significant relationships between recruitment transparency and ghost worker incidence (χ² = 68.432, p = .000) and between payroll verification systems and the sustainability of fraudulent entries (r = –.587, p = .000). The article situates these findings within Fraud Triangle Theory and Agency Theory, arguing that ghost worker syndrome is not an isolated accounting anomaly but a systemic product of weak recruitment architecture, principal–agent goal incongruence, and institutionalised patronage. It concludes with policy recommendations centred on mandatory biometric enrolment, integration of recruitment with the Bank Verification Number and National Identification Number platforms, and independent forensic auditing.