Osun
Osun APC demands probe of N13.7bn payroll fraud, govt dismisses claim
The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the administration of Governor Ademola Adeleke of orchestrating an annual payroll fraud amounting to N13.7 billion, urging anti-corruption agencies to launch a comprehensive investigation.
Speaking at a world press conference held at the Tinubu/Shettima Campaign Office along Gbongan-Osogbo Road on Friday, the state APC chairman, Tajudeen Lawal, claimed that revelations from the Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sally Tibbot Consulting Limited, Saadat Ottun, confirmed longstanding concerns about irregularities in the state government’s payroll system.
Lawal called on the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to scrutinise the matter, expressing alarm over alleged figures indicating that one civil servant was reportedly receiving salaries meant for 5,615 workers.
He also raised questions about the reported purchase of an Automated Payroll Administrative System valued at N79 million, alleging payment was made without confirmed delivery or deployment. Lawal criticised the government’s denial of the allegations, insisting that only a transparent and independent investigation would resolve the controversy.
“If this claim is accurate, continued inaction would be indefensible,” Lawal stated, while also urging investigators to examine the alleged involvement of individuals within the governor’s inner circle.
In a swift reaction, the Osun State Government dismissed the allegations as fake news sponsored by the APC. In a statement by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, the government insisted that no such fraud existed, stressing that verification of the controversial audit report showed that over two-thirds of those labelled as ghost workers were genuine staff with proper documentation.
The government maintained that Governor Adeleke initiated the staff audit to address concerns about payroll irregularities and remains open to investigations by anti-corruption agencies.
The latest exchange follows a January allegation by Sally Tibbot Consulting Limited, which claimed that its forensic audit uncovered 8,452 ghost workers on the state’s payroll, resulting in an annual loss of N13.7 billion. The firm’s CEO, Sa’adat Bakrin-Ottun, had presented the findings through legal counsel Jiti Ogunye at a press conference in Lagos.
At the time, the state government rejected the report, stating that a re-verification exercise revealed significant inflation in the figures originally submitted.
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