AlHijjah 1, 1432, Oct 28, 2011, SPA -- Nigeria said it had been losing 28 billion naira ($175 million) annually on pensions for non-existent government 'ghost workers', a further sign of the impact corruption has on sub-Saharan Africa's second-largest economy, Reuters reported. New Finance Minister and Coordinator of the Economy Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has pledged to reduce the level of recurrent expenditure in next year's budget and tackle 'leakages'. Africa's most populous nation spends over 70 percent of its crude oil earnings on keeping government running, leaving little for much-needed infrastructure and services. Ibrahim Sali, who heads the Service of the Federation - the government administration - said on Thursday the ghost pension payments had now been stopped. -- SPA
