Audit of Osun Civil Service Uncover 8,452 Ghost Workers
Audit of Osun Civil Service Uncover 8,452 Ghost Workers
A forensic audit of the Osun State Civil Service, conducted by Sally Tibbot Consulting Limited, has allegedly uncovered a massive payroll fraud involving 8,452 “ghost workers.”
The firm’s report claims that these non-existent employees were costing the state approximately N13.7 billion annually.
According to the lead consultant, Sa’adat Bakrin-Ottun, the monthly payroll bill was slashed from N4.48 billion to N3.34 billion following the “re-engineering” of the payment system, resulting in a monthly saving of over N1.14 billion for the state government.
The audit firm further detailed that the exercise, which cost the state N600 million, covered the mainstream civil service, local governments, and various state institutions.
The report highlighted that before the intervention, the payroll was inflated by thousands of individuals who were either deceased, retired, or never employed.
The firm’s legal counsel, Jiti Ogunye, emphasized that the briefing was necessary to ensure public accountability and to prevent the continued siphoning of state resources through fraudulent means.
However, the Osun State Government has vehemently denied these findings, describing the report as false and misleading.
Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, clarified that many of those labeled as “ghost workers” by the consultant were actually legitimate high-ranking officials. In a bizarre twist, the government claimed the audit firm’s list of “ghosts” included Governor Ademola Adeleke himself, as well as his deputy, the Secretary to the State Government, and several university professors and deans.
The state government has accused the consulting firm of inflating figures to justify its fees, which were reportedly tied to the amount of “savings” discovered. Following its own internal verification, the government stated that while thousands were flagged by the firm, only 1,316 individuals remained unverified, a far cry from the 8,000+ claimed.
As the controversy escalates, many of the legitimate workers wrongly identified in the report are reportedly preparing to take legal action against the firm for defamation.
