APM candidate slams Adeleke’s defence on ghost workers

By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo –

The governorship candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) in Osun State, Adewale Adebayo, has criticised Governor Ademola Adeleke’s defence over the discovery of 8,452 ghost workers on the state’s payroll, calling it unacceptable and a sign of systemic failure in wage management.

In a statement made available to newsmen in Osogbo on Saturday, Adebayo described Adeleke’s response as evasive and contradictory.

“This response does not clear the government; it exposes it. Instead of transparently addressing the core findings of the audit, the government has chosen to weaponise civil servants and shift blame to the very consultants it hired,” he said.

Adebayo noted that Osun deserves competence, clarity and courage, not confusion. “A government that fights auditors instead of fraud, critics instead of corruption, and questions instead of answers has lost its moral authority,” he added.

He challenged the state government to publish all audit reports, re-verification findings and payroll data to allow for public scrutiny.

The APM candidate also called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to intervene in the matter in the interest of transparency and public trust.

“Adeleke’s defence is political and not in the interest of the state. The ghost workers he is defending are electors whose votes he seeks in 2026; he is using state resources to induce them,” Adebayo alleged.

Osun State Government had engaged Sally Tibbot Limited for a staff audit on January 11, 2023. The firm, led by Executive Vice Chairman Sa’adat Bakrin-Ottun, identified 8,452 ghost workers, noting that the government pays them a total of N13,716,914,129.28 annually. The state, however, rejected the report, saying a re-validation exercise found only 1,316 workers and pensioners unaccounted for.