The Osun State Government has refuted claims by consultancy firm Sally Tibbot Limited that it discovered 8,452 ghost workers, allegedly costing the state N13.7 billion annually. The audit, conducted between June and December 2023, was commissioned to verify staff on the state payroll.

The government accused the firm of inflating numbers to secure higher fees, describing the consultant’s report as attempted blackmail. Commissioner for Information, Kolapo Alimi, stressed that many of the so-called ghost workers were legitimate employees and retirees.

According to Osun’s review:

• Out of 8,448 employees declared as unseen, 8,015 were confirmed active, while 433 could not be reached.
• Of 6,713 retirees labeled as ghosts, 5,830 were verified, with 883 unreachable.
• The actual number of “unverified” staff totaled 1,316, far lower than the firm’s claim of 15,161.

Alimi added that the government was prepared to provide evidence of each employee’s existence, but the consultancy had not requested such verification.

A re-verification committee concluded that the real annual savings from uncovering these ghost workers is N27.07 million, in contrast to the N1.3 billion claimed by the consultant. Sally Tibbot Limited is to be paid N48.74 million, reflecting 159% of the verified savings, in line with the original MoU.

The state emphasized that it remains committed to cleaning up the payroll but will not act on inflated or fraudulent claims that could harm legitimate employees.