A forensic audit firm, SALLY TIBBOT Consulting Limited, has accused the Osun State Government of inserting 8,452 alleged ghost workers into the state payroll and paying them a total of ₦13.7bn annually.
The allegation was made by the firm’s Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Sa’adat Bakrin-Ottun, through the company’s legal counsel, Jiti Ogunye, during a press conference held on Friday at the Nigeria Union of Journalists Secretariat in Lagos.
Bakrin-Ottun said the figures were the outcome of a comprehensive forensic audit and payroll validation exercise carried out for the Osun State Government, which she claimed exposed widespread payroll fraud in the state’s civil and public service system.
Efforts to obtain a response from the Osun State Government on the allegation were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
The Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation, Kolapo Alimi, did not answer phone calls made to him.
Similarly, the spokesperson to Governor Ademola Adeleke, Olawale Rasheed, promised to forward the government’s reaction in a statement but had yet to do so.
Explaining how the figures were generated, Bakrin-Ottun said her firm was formally engaged by the Osun State Government after submitting a proposal dated January 11, 2023.
She said the firm was subsequently awarded the contract through a letter dated April 11, 2023, to audit and validate the state’s payroll system.
According to her, a formal auditing and consulting agreement was executed on May 22, 2023.
She said the agreement mandated SALLY TIBBOT to carry out a comprehensive staff verification, payroll re-engineering and validation exercise across the civil service, local governments, the State Universal Basic Education Board, the Teaching Service Commission, state-owned tertiary institutions, and all state and local government pensioners.
Bakrin-Ottun described the assignment as one of the most extensive payroll audits ever conducted in Osun State.
She said the objective was to verify all individuals drawing salaries and pensions from the state treasury.
Bakrin-Ottun said the exercise was carried out between June and December 2023.
She disclosed that 125 personnel were deployed both physically and remotely for the audit.
She added that the firm spent over ₦600m in executing the contract.
According to her, the audit process was extremely challenging and involved security threats and bureaucratic obstacles.
She said the difficulties were largely due to the fact that the exercise uncovered entrenched payroll fraud and corrupt practices within the salary payment system.
Presenting the findings, Bakrin-Ottun disclosed that as of January 2023, Osun State’s payroll stood at ₦4.48bn monthly for 37,456 staff and 17,918 pensioners.
She said the audit reduced the verified payroll to ₦3.34bn monthly for 29,004 genuine staff and the same 17,918 pensioners.
According to her, the difference showed that 8,452 ghost workers had been fraudulently added to the payroll.
She said this resulted in a monthly loss of ₦1.14bn and an annual loss of ₦13.72bn to the state.
Bakrin-Ottun stated that the forensic audit report and an accompanying invoice were submitted to Governor Ademola Adeleke on June 27, 2024.
She said the submission was first done during a private presentation in Lagos.
She added that the report was later formally presented at a public event in Osogbo on July 10, 2024.
Bakrin-Ottun said that despite the clear findings and contractual provisions requiring payment within five working days, the state government had neither paid the firm’s professional fees nor implemented the recommendations.
She maintained that payment under the contract was not dependent on the implementation of the audit report.
However, she insisted that the recommendations should be implemented in the interest of transparency and accountability.
She further disclosed that the state government set up an action committee chaired by the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Kazeem Akinleye.
According to her, the committee was tasked with reviewing and outlining measures for implementing the report’s recommendations.
She said the committee later claimed that 433 workers and 883 retirees identified by SALLY TIBBOT were unreachable.
She added that the committee put the cost implication of those cases at ₦55.26m.
Bakrin-Ottun rejected claims by the state government that a subsequent re-verification exercise invalidated her firm’s findings.
She described the claim as an afterthought aimed at avoiding payment obligations and sustaining payroll fraud.
She said the contract did not provide for any re-verification after the submission of the forensic audit report.
She also argued that the state government lacked the expertise and capacity to independently carry out such a re-verification exercise.
Bakrin-Ottun described allegations that the firm’s findings were exaggerated or false as reckless, malicious and defamatory.
She said the claims were intended to damage the professional integrity and reputation of SALLY TIBBOT Consulting Limited.
She stated that the firm spent six months moving from local government to local government and from institution to institution to physically verify staff and capture their biometric data.
She added that the Osun State Government instructed all staff to make themselves available for the exercise.
According to her, orientation programmes were also conducted to ensure full cooperation from affected workers.
She insisted that no eligible staff member or pensioner was excluded from the verification process.
Bakrin-Ottun said the firm would have no option but to invite anti-corruption agencies to investigate the matter.
She maintained that the action was not in the interest of any third party.
She said the objective was to ensure the implementation of the audit recommendations and the payment of the firm’s outstanding fees by the Osun State Government.
- AFCON 2025: BUA chairman pledges $1.5m bonus for Super Eagles after Algeria victory - January 10, 2026
- Super Eagles soar into AFCON semi-finals with 2–0 win over Algeria - January 10, 2026
- FG, ASUU set to sign long-awaited agreement January 14 - January 10, 2026
