The Osun State Government has dismissed claims by Sally Tibbot Limited that 8,452 workers on the state payroll were ghost workers, insisting that its own re-validation exercise identified only 1,316 unseen employees and pensioners.

The government described the recent press briefing by the consulting firm as a subtle attempt to pressure the state into accepting what it termed an inflated audit report.

In a statement issued by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, the government said many of those labelled as ghost workers by Sally Tibbot Limited were legitimate employees and retirees. He added that the firm neither requested proof of their existence nor accepted payment based on the overstated figures it presented.

Sally Tibbot Limited, which was engaged by the state government in January 2023 to conduct a staff audit, had claimed that Osun State was paying ghost workers an annual sum of ₦13,716,914,129.28.

The firm had also declared 8,448 workers as ghost retirees, a conclusion the state government said was reached without making efforts to invite the affected individuals or ascertain the reasons for their absence.

According to the state government, a re-verification exercise confirmed that 8,015 of the 8,448 workers were active staff members, while only 433 were found to be unreachable.

Reacting to the controversy, the Allied Peoples Movement governorship candidate in Osun State, Adewale Adebayo, described Governor Ademola Adeleke’s defence as evasive and contradictory.

According to Adebayo, “This response does not clear the government, it exposes it. Instead of transparently addressing the core findings of the audit, the government has chosen to weaponise civil servants and shift blame to the very consultants it hired.”

He challenged the state government to publish all audit reports, re-verification findings and payroll data, and urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to intervene in the interest of transparency.

Adebayo further alleged that the governor’s defence was politically motivated and aimed at protecting ghost workers who could influence the 2026 governorship election.

Meanwhile, Governor Ademola Adeleke welcomed the call for the EFCC and ICPC to review the audit report.

In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Mallam Rasheed Olawale, the governor said the anti-graft agencies were free to review the audit report, adding that “What they will be checking and reviewing was the inherited payroll and personnel list from the Oyetola’s administration”.

He stated that “Our administration did not and has not expanded the personnel and payroll structures inherited from the last administration. Moreover, what was audited was the payroll and personnel structure under Oyetola’s administration.”

Governor Adeleke said he should be commended for rejecting the consultant’s recommendation to lay off legitimate workers for personal gain, stressing that “we stop likely fraud even while pushing to clean up the system”.

Adeleke added, “We therefore welcome the call on the EFCC and the ICPC to review the audit report submitted by Sally Tibbot. Let the Oyetola administration officials braze up for the exercise.”