Payroll fraud: Audit firm report is fraudulent, methodologically flawed - UNIOSUN, Osun Gov't
The management of Osun State University (UNIOSUN) and the Osun State Government have formally debunked a report by Sally Tibbot Consulting Limited, labeling it an unprofessional and useless document.
The backlash follows an audit that purportedly identified thousands of ghost workers, including the university’s Vice-Chancellor, prominent professors, and even a former governor, in a move officials describe as a calculated attempt to secure unearned pecuniary gains.
At a press conference held on Saturday, the Vice-Chancellor of UNIOSUN, Professor Clement Adebooye, expressed outrage over the firm’s inclusion of 250 legitimate staff members, himself included on a ghost worker list.
The V alleged that the consultant, Sally Tibbot, displayed gross ignorance of academic administrative structures, failing to account for personnel on sabbatical, study, or research leave.
He further clarified that the university had transparently submitted records of staff who had retired or resigned between 2022 and 2023, yet the firm allegedly merged these names into a fraudulent ghost worker category rather than netting them out of the workforce.
The university management has demanded a formal apology, threatening legal action to protect the reputation of its staff who have faced international embarrassment due to the report.
Professor Adebooye defended the institution’s
Salary Checker system as a foolproof, real-time verification process that renders salary padding impossible.
This sentiment was echoed by Comrade Olusegun Adebayo, Chairman of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), UNIOSUN branch, who noted with irony that as a pioneer staff member since 2007, he was also erroneously listed as a ghost worker despite physically participating in the 2023 audit.
In a similar defense of the state’s broader fiscal management, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, spokesperson for Governor Ademola Adeleke, clarified that the payroll period in question actually predated the current administration, falling under the watch of the previous Oyetola government.
Addressing specific allegations made by the firm’s CEO on national television, Rasheed dismissed claims that single BVN accounts were receiving hundreds of salaries.
He explained that these payments were actually made to microfinance banks and cooperative societies, which then disbursed funds to their legitimate civil servant members, a long-standing practice in the state.
The government also revealed critical technical failures in the consultant’s proposed Automated Payroll Administration System (APAS).
According to Rasheed, the firm’s own technical team admitted during a review meeting that their software was untested and not ready for deployment.
He noted that the Adeleke administration opted to utilize the World Bank-supported SIFMIS system to clean the state payroll, ensuring adherence to global best practices.
On the appointment of the Chief of Staff, Hon. Kazeem Akinleye, to chair the action committee reviewing the consultant’s report, Olawale said the governor acted within his constitutional powers.
He explained that the committee included nominees from the consultant and labour unions, but alleged that the consultant later boycotted the re-verification process.
He said, ''Sally Tibbot did not present a report to Dr Deji. In July 2024, the report was officially presented at the Banquet hall of the Government House. It was widely covered by the media. The photo and video of meeting with Dr Deji followed after the official presentation and it was arranged by the governor following fear over legitimate workers about to be declared ghost workers."
"Several workers and pensioners by the Sally Tibbot report contacted Deji to save them because they are not ghost workers. The governor brought the consultant to Dr Deji's house because as at then the governor was hellbent on implementing the report. At the meeting, the consultant videoed and took pictures without authorisation. It was not a formal meeting."
"Two things came out of the meeting. First, known government officials and pensioners were listed as ghost workers like the Vice Chancellor and many other state officials. Secondly, the consultant's technical team admitted the payroll software the firm was developing for the state was not ready for deployment. The team also admitted that the system has never been tested anywhere."
"The governor was alarmed and it was at that point that the issue of a review committee came up and the consultant agreed. In any case, there is no crime in advising your brother in power. It happened in the US and even here in Nigeria."
"The governor possesses the power and mandate to pick who represents him on any committee. The governor was the main supporter of the consultant because at that point almost all important officials in government have had issues with the consultant. The governor then asked the consultant to nominate two members, two members from the labour movement while the Chief of Staff chaired the committee."
"There is no law that says the Chief of Staff cannot chair the committee as a trusted aide of the governor. The consultant boycotted the re-verification committee because her report could not stand the test of review," he added.
Governor Adeleke has officially petitioned anti-graft agencies to investigate the matter, maintaining that while the consultant claimed over 15,000 ghost workers existed, a rigorous state re-verification committee found the figure to be fewer than 500 unaccounted-for individuals.
The state government maintained that the consultant’s refusal to participate in the re-verification process was a tactical retreat because her report could not withstand professional scrutiny.
As legal battles loom, the state and the university remain firm in their position that the audit report serves as a misleading document that should be discarded in favor of verified, evidence-based records.