…reveals a single bank account is siphoning 5,615 monthly salaries
…as State Gov’t accuses firm of inflating figures to claim higher commissions
An audit firm, Salivot Consulting Limited has alleged that it has uncovered a massive N13.7bn payroll fraud involving over 8,000 ghost workers and pensioners.
The firm’s CEO, Ms. Sadat Bakrin-Ottun, revealed this during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Tonight that a 12-month forensic review estimated the state is losing approximately N13.7 billion annually to non-existent employees and fraudulent practices.
The audit, which the firm claims was commissioned by the Governor Ademola Adeleke administration to sanitize the state’s workforce, reportedly identified 8,452 workers and 5,831 pensioners who failed to appear for physical and biometric verification.
Among the most shocking findings were instances of extreme payroll manipulation, including a single bank account linked to one BVN that was allegedly receiving 962 separate salaries every month.
Another account was reportedly found to be collecting 5,615 monthly salaries.
Reacting, the Osun State Government has strongly rejected these findings, accusing the consulting firm of professional misconduct and inflating figures to claim higher commissions under a “no savings, no pay” contract model.
Government officials insist that only 1,316 workers remain unverified and maintain that many of those flagged by the firm were legitimate employees whom the state refused to remove from the payroll in good conscience.
Ms. Bakrin-Ottun countered these accusations, stating that the audit was foolproof and supported by biometric data.
She alleged that while Governor Adeleke initially supported the process, the implementation stalled after the report was submitted in July 2024.
She further claimed that hostilities began when she pushed for accountability regarding the siphoned funds, leading to a falling out with senior state officials, including the Chief of Staff.
The legal counsel for the audit firm, J.T.O. Uwazuruike, indicated that the matter has moved beyond a mere contractual dispute over unpaid fees.
Due to the government’s public challenge of the firm’s integrity, the consultants now intend to escalate the findings to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to identify the individuals behind the alleged siphoning of billions of naira from the state’s treasury.
The state government has yet to provide a full rebuttal to the specific allegations of multiple salary payments into single accounts, but the standoff continues to raise serious questions about the transparency of the state’s N1 billion monthly wage bill reduction claims.