A forensic audit firm has raised serious allegations of large-scale payroll fraud within Osun State, a state in southwestern Nigeria, claiming that thousands of non-existent workers were placed on the government payroll, costing public funds billions of naira every year.
The firm, SALLY TIBBOT Consulting Limited, disclosed that its audit uncovered 8,452 alleged ghost workers who were reportedly paid a total of ₦13,716,914,129.28 annually by the Osun State Government. Okay News reports that the revelation has triggered fresh public concern about transparency and financial accountability in state governance.
The allegation was made by the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the consulting firm, Sa’adat Bakrin-Ottun. She spoke through the company’s legal representative, Jiti Ogunye, during a press conference held at the Nigeria Union of Journalists Secretariat in Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city and commercial hub, on Friday.
According to Bakrin-Ottun, the figures emerged from a detailed forensic audit and payroll validation exercise conducted for the Osun State Government. She said the exercise exposed deep-rooted payroll manipulation across the state civil service and other publicly funded institutions.
Despite repeated efforts, officials of the Osun State Government did not respond to requests for comment on the allegations. The Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation, Kolapo Alimi, was unreachable by phone. In addition, Olawale Rasheed, spokesperson to Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, said the government would issue a formal response but had not done so as of the time this report was prepared.
Explaining the background of the audit, Bakrin-Ottun stated that her firm was officially engaged following a proposal submitted on Friday, January 11, 2023. She said the contract was formally awarded through a letter dated Thursday, April 11, 2023, authorizing the firm to audit and validate the state payroll system.
She added that a comprehensive consulting agreement was signed on Monday, May 22, 2023. The agreement mandated the firm to carry out a full staff verification, payroll restructuring, and validation exercise covering the Osun State civil service, local government councils, the State Universal Basic Education Board, the Teaching Service Commission, state-owned tertiary institutions, and all categories of state and local government pensioners.
Describing the assignment, Bakrin-Ottun said it was one of the most extensive payroll audits ever undertaken in Osun State, designed to confirm the authenticity of every individual receiving salary or pension payments from the state treasury.
She disclosed that the audit was conducted between June and December 2023, with 125 personnel deployed both physically across institutions and through remote verification channels. According to her, the firm spent more than ₦600 million to execute the assignment.
“The execution of the contract was very challenging, life-threatening and laden with security threats and bureaucratic subversions, understandably because the audit unearthed pervasive payroll fraud and corrupt practices in the state’s salary payment system,” she said.
Bakrin-Ottun revealed that as of January 2023, the Osun State payroll stood at ₦4,483,943,105.70 per month, covering 37,456 workers and 17,918 pensioners. However, after the audit, the verified payroll dropped to ₦3,340,866,928.26 monthly, accounting for 29,004 confirmed staff members while retaining the same number of pensioners.
She explained that the difference indicated the insertion of 8,452 ghost workers, leading to a monthly financial loss of ₦1,143,076,177.44 and an annual loss of ₦13,716,914,129.28.
According to the firm, the audit report and an invoice for professional fees were submitted to Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, the current governor of Osun State, on Thursday, June 27, 2024, during a private presentation in Lagos. A public presentation followed on Wednesday, July 10, 2024, in Osogbo, the Osun State capital.
Bakrin-Ottun stated that although the contract required payment within five working days of report submission, the state government neither paid the firm nor implemented the audit recommendations.
“Payment under the contract is not contingent on the implementation of the audit report. However, we insist that the recommendations must be implemented in the interest of transparency and accountability,” she said.
She further revealed that the Osun State Government later constituted an action committee chaired by the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Kazeem Akinleye, to examine the audit findings and propose implementation steps.
However, she rejected claims by the committee that a subsequent re-verification exercise invalidated her firm’s findings. She described the move as an attempt to evade contractual obligations and sustain payroll irregularities.
“The claim that our findings were exaggerated or false is reckless, malicious and defamatory. It seeks to impugn the integrity and professional reputation of SALLY TIBBOT,” she said.
She added that the firm physically verified workers across institutions for six months, capturing biometric data and images, with full cooperation directed by the state government.
Bakrin-Ottun concluded by calling on Nigeria’s anti-corruption agencies to investigate the matter, stressing that the firm’s actions were motivated by accountability and adherence to contractual agreements.
