The Spokesperson to Governor Ademola Adeleke, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, has challenged payroll consultant Sally Tibbot and her lead counsel, Jiti Ogunye, to submit their evidence to the anti-graft agencies instead of conducting a “media trial” against top Osun State government officials.
Rasheed, responding to Tibbot’s latest interview, described her claims as “deliberate falsehoods” and defended the role of the Chief of Staff, Hon Kazeem Akinleye, in preventing an alleged attempt to defraud the state.
“The matter is currently under investigation by the anti-graft agencies. It is unclear why the consultant and her counsel opted for a media spectacle on TVC, which refused the state government a right of reply,” Rasheed said.
The spokesperson noted that Tibbot’s firm was engaged in January 2023, just two months into Adeleke’s administration, and that the audited payroll she presented reflected the previous administration’s records. According to Rasheed, the report confirmed that 12,000 workers were injected into the payroll by the former government, making Tibbot’s claims “twisting of the untwistable.”
Rasheed accused Tibbot of targeting the Chief of Staff personally by circulating unauthorized recorded calls on national television, describing the action as a breach of cybercrime and data laws.
“The Chief of Staff creditably performed his duties by preventing attempts to push through a staff audit report that would have defrauded the state and harmed the careers of hundreds of legitimate workers wrongfully listed as ghost employees,” he added.
Rasheed insisted that both the Governor and his Chief of Staff have no regrets for upholding due process, labour laws, and anti-corruption statutes, calling their actions “patriotic” and in defense of public integrity.
He further urged Tibbot to provide any additional evidence directly to anti-graft investigators rather than continuing “junketing from one media station to another,” emphasizing that “Osun people already know the truth – that the Governor stopped a scam that would have caused financial loss and human misery.”