Osun Government Counters Alleged Ghost Workers Claim by Consultant

The Osun State Government has dismissed claims by Sally Tibbot Consulting (Nig.) Ltd that it was covering up ghost workers in the state public service, describing the allegations as an attempt to pressure the government into approving a fraudulent audit report.

Speaking on the matter, Oluomo Kolapo Alimi, Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, said the state carried out a thorough re-verification exercise after noting unusually high numbers of alleged ghost workers in the consultant’s report. The exercise revealed extensive inflation, with many of the so-called ghost workers found to be legitimate employees.

“The re-verification committee confirmed that out of 8,448 workers declared as unseen, 8,015 were active, while only 433 could not be reached. Likewise, of 6,713 retirees marked as ghost workers, 5,830 were confirmed, leaving 883 unreachable,” Alimi stated.

The commissioner emphasized that the state is committed to cleaning up its payroll but cannot remove legitimate employees based on inaccurate reports. “We cannot in good conscience remove genuine staff from the payroll or implement an audit report that may defraud the government further,” he said.

Sally Tibbot Consulting had initially declared a total of 15,161 workers and retirees as unseen. The Osun State Government’s verification showed the actual figure was about 1,316, drastically reducing the amount payable to the consultant.

Alimi explained that payment to the firm is based on the actual savings from the verification exercise. “The consultant will be paid N48.74 million, representing 159% of the annual salaries and allowances saved through the re-verification,” he said.

The commissioner noted that the state remains transparent and ready to provide proof of employment for all workers declared legitimate, stressing that the government’s position is guided by the need to protect public funds.