Osun Workers To Sue Audit Firm Over ‘Ghost Worker’ Allegations

Public servants in Osun State who were declared ghost workers by consultancy firm Sally Tibbot Limited have resolved to sue the company and its lead consultant in court, accusing them of defamation and deliberate damage to careers built over several decades.

According to a statement on Saturday by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Oluomo Alimi, the affected workers, drawn from various ministries, departments and agencies, said the allegations amounted to character assassination.

In multiple appeals to the state government, they decried what they described as the unjust labelling of legitimate workers as ghost employees and vowed to seek redress in a court of law.

Their reaction followed a media briefing by Sally Tibbot Limited, in which the firm alleged that the Osun State Government was harbouring and covering up ghost workers by refusing to implement the outcome of a controversial staff audit.

The workers expressed anger that the consultant continued to describe them as ghost workers despite their participation in verification exercises, during which they were reportedly duly captured.

They maintained that they are genuine employees with unblemished records of service and said they were ready to present themselves again to prove their legitimacy.

They accused the consultant of mishandling the audit exercise, alleging maltreatment of workers, inhuman treatment of senior civil servants and refusal to decentralise the process. According to them, the audit was conducted with an ulterior motive to defraud the state and tarnish the image of the Osun State Government.

Those affected reportedly include the Vice-Chancellor of Osun State University, staff of polytechnics, several professors, deans, provosts and other senior officials. Workers from more than ten agencies and several tertiary institutions were also said to have been excluded from the audit and subsequently declared ghost workers.

It was further alleged that the consultant at a point declared the state governor, the deputy governor, the Secretary to the State Government and more than two-thirds of political appointees as ghost workers.

“It is also on record that the consultant declared the state governor, the deputy governor, the Secretary to the state government and more than two thirds of political appointees in the state as ghost workers,” the statement read.

Meanwhile, the Osun State Government has dismissed allegations of a cover-up, describing the firm’s press briefing as a subtle attempt at blackmail aimed at forcing a fraudulent audit report on the state.

According to the government, the unusually high number of alleged ghost workers prompted a re-verification exercise, which revealed significant inflation in the figures. The exercise, it said, showed that many individuals labelled as ghost workers were legitimate employees of the state government.

The government stated that it was willing to provide proof of the existence of each affected worker if required, noting that the company neither requested such proof nor submitted an acceptance letter for payment relating to about 1,316 workers reportedly not seen during the audit.

Raising further concerns, the government noted that the consultant’s fees were tied to the amount saved from the payroll, suggesting that the claims were driven by greed. It cited alleged exclusion of staff, high-handedness and deliberate maltreatment of workers as features that characterised the audit process.

While reaffirming its commitment to sanitising the state payroll, the government said it could not, in good conscience, remove legitimate employees or implement an audit report capable of further defrauding the state.

The government added that gaps, verifiable lapses, disputes during the audit process and the unusually high number of alleged ghost workers necessitated the establishment of a verification committee before any implementation of the staff audit report.