APC raises alarm over alleged ₦13bn payroll fraud in Osun civil service

By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo –

The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has condemned the alleged ₦13 billion payroll fraud uncovered in the state civil service under the administration of Governor Ademola Adeleke, allegedly paid to 8,452 workers.

Sally Tibbot Consulting Limited alleged that a forensic audit of the Osun State civil service uncovered 8,452 ghost workers, with over ₦13 billion paid annually to non-existent employees.

The firm said the executive brief and full audit report submitted to Governor Adeleke showed that the state payroll for January 2023 stood at ₦4.48 billion for 37,456 workers and 17,918 pensioners.

It added that the figure was revised downward to ₦3.34 billion after a staff audit, payroll re-engineering and validation exercise, which confirmed an actual workforce of 29,004 staff and 17,918 pensioners.

According to the firm, the exercise resulted in reported monthly savings of ₦1.14 billion, amounting to about ₦13.7 billion annually.

Reacting, the APC, in a statement by its Director of Media and Information, Mogaji Kola Olabisi, said the alleged payroll fraud had vindicated the opposition’s long-standing criticism of the governor’s capacity to effectively govern Osun State.

The party also described as serious and criminal the allegation by the consulting firm that some elements were threatening the lives of its management, calling on the police and relevant anti-corruption agencies to investigate.

The APC further faulted the governor for not making the audit recommendations public since their submission on 27 June 2024, describing his over three-year-old administration as directionless, wasteful and unfocused, while expressing confidence that its governorship candidate, Oyebamiji, would defeat the incumbent in the 8 August 2026 election.