By Micah Jonah, February 21, 2026
The Osun State Government has dismissed claims of a N13 billion payroll scam, accusing auditing firm Sally Tibbot Limited of inflating the number of “ghost workers” to secure a N2 billion commission.
In a statement, the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, said verification of the consultant’s report showed that more than two-thirds of those labeled as ghost workers were legitimate staff with proper documentation.
The CEO of Sally Tibbot, Sa’adat Bakrin-Ottun, had alleged on Channels Television that the state refused to act on the report after it revealed payroll fraud. Alimi countered that the firm was hired to clean up the inherited payroll but wrongly labeled many active employees as ghost staff.
According to the commissioner, the review committee confirmed 8,015 out of 8,448 active employees declared missing, and 5,830 of 6,713 retirees were verified. Only 1,316 individuals could not be reached. The consultant allegedly exaggerated the numbers to claim a higher commission, which was ultimately reduced to ₦47 million.
Alimi stated that Governor Adeleke welcomed anti-corruption agencies’ involvement to validate the audit and that the state has implemented its own payroll reform. He also cleared the governor’s elder brother, Deji Adeleke, of any wrongdoing, noting his role was to ensure legitimate staff were not dismissed.
The disagreement between the Osun State Government and Sally Tibbot has intensified over the non-implementation of the audit report. Efforts to reach the consultant for comment were unsuccessful.
The state remains open to verification by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to resolve the matter.
