Osun rejects N13bn payroll fraud claim, accuses consultant of inflating figures

OSOGBO, Osun State — The Osun State Government has firmly dismissed allegations of a ₦13 billion payroll fraud levelled against it, accusing the consultant behind the claim of inflating figures and misclassifying legitimate workers as “ghost staff” to secure a higher fee.

The controversy stems from an audit report by Sally Tibbot Limited, a consulting firm engaged by the state to conduct a payroll verification exercise covering workers and retirees on the state’s books. The firm had claimed the audit uncovered some 15,000 ghost workers and projected an annual payroll loss of about ₦13 billion, with a potential commission of roughly ₦2 billion for the consultant under a “no savings, no pay” agreement.

However, the state government, in a statement by Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment Kolapo Alimi, said its internal re-verification found that more than two-thirds of those identified as ghost workers were bona fide staff members with proper documentation.

According to officials, out of the 8,448 active workers the firm listed as unseen, 8,015 were confirmed active, while only 433 were unreachable. Similarly, of the 6,713 retirees flagged, 5,830 were verified, leaving about 883 unverified — a total far smaller than the firm’s claims.

The government also alleged that the consultant ignored invitations to revisit and validate its figures once discrepancies emerged, holding on to inflated numbers despite evidence to the contrary. As a result, the consultant’s eventual payment obligation reportedly plummeted to about ₦47 million, not the initially anticipated amount.

Osun State maintained that Governor Ademola Adeleke had originally engaged the audit to identify and eliminate any genuine ghost workers inherited from the previous administration, and welcomed further scrutiny by anti-corruption agencies EFCC and ICPC to independently verify the exercise.

In its rebuttal, the government also described the renewed payroll fraud allegation as “fake news” allegedly sponsored by the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), a charge the party has denied.

Meanwhile, some civil servants reportedly labelled as ghost workers have expressed anger over the audit’s findings and are said to be considering legal action for defamation.

The dispute highlights ongoing tensions over public sector payroll management in Osun State and raises calls for transparent, independent investigations to resolve the conflicting claims.