UNIOSUN Demands Apology, Threatens Lawsuit over Audit Report on Alleged 250 Ghost-workers

Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo

The Osun State University (UNIOSUN) has demanded a formal apology from Sally Tibbot Ltd after a payroll audit report allegedly listed 250 university workers as “ghost workers.”

The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Clement Adebooye, told journalists in Osogbo yesterday that the university would institute legal action if the audit firm failed to issue a formal apology.

Adebooye said he was personally verified during the audit exercise but was still listed as a ghost worker in the report released afterward.

He said 249 other staff members were also classified as ghost workers, describing the outcome as an attempt to damage the institution’s reputation.

“The Governing Council and Management of Osun State University view the consultant’s report as being precariously subjective, in bad faith, unprofessional, and a deliberate attempt to smear the image and reputation of the University with falsehood and malice,” he said.

The vice chancellor alleged that the consultant lacked understanding of university employment structures, including sabbatical leave, study leave, visiting lecturer arrangements, and research leave.

He said legitimate staff members on approved leave were wrongly categorised as ghost workers.

“The listing of 250 members of staff (on ground) as ghost workers laid credence to the suspicion that Sally Tibbot focused on her returns rather than the accountability objective of the exercise.

“The University unequivocally questions the methodological basis upon which the ghost workers list was drawn, particularly in the light of documented evidence of physical verification,” he said.

The university demanded a formal apology from the audit firm and warned that it would seek legal action if the request were not met.

“We request a formal apology to the institution and affected individuals from Sally Tibbot. The Vice-Chancellor and eminent Professors have been bombarded with embarrassing telephone calls, messages, and letters from local and international organisations due to the audit report. We may go to court to seek redress,” Adebooye said.

Efforts to reach the Chief Executive Officer of Sally Tibbot Limited, Sa’adat Bakrin-Ottun, for comment were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.

Attempts to reach her by phone failed, and a WhatsApp message went unanswered.

The controversy stems from the May/June 2023 staff audit exercise conducted by the consulting firm for the Osun State government.

Bakrin-Ottun had previously alleged that the state government failed to act on findings that reportedly identified about 15,000 ghost workers and retirees on the payroll.

However, the state government, through Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment Kolapo Alimi, accused the firm of inflating ghost worker figures to earn higher commission.

Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress in Osun State called on the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the alleged payroll irregularities.

APC spokesperson, Kola Olabisi, said the probe was necessary to determine the extent of involvement of all parties.

In response, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) state chairman, Sunday Bisi, said the opposition party was defending a consultant whose figures were allegedly disproved during verification.