Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun state has formally requested an investigation by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, into allegations of a padded payroll within the Osun State civil service.
In a letter dated February 20, 2026 and addressed to the ICPC chairman through the commission’s Osogbo office, Governor Adeleke asked the agency to authenticate reports arising from a staff audit conducted on the state’s payroll.
The governor in the correspondence indicated that upon assuming office, his administration encountered claims of “ghost workers and padded payroll” allegedly inherited from the tenure of former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola.
According to the letter, “the state government engaged Sally Tibbot, an audit firm, to examine the payroll records covering the period from 2018 to November 2022.
“The review was intended to assess the integrity of the staff list and verify expenditure on personnel.
“The audit firm submitted its report on 27 June 2024.”
Governor Adeleke stated that he subsequently directed the implementation of its recommendations in line with his administration’s objective of removing any identified irregularities.
However, the governor noted that controversy followed the publication of the audit findings, particularly after some senior officials were reportedly listed among alleged ghost workers.
“In view of the controversies generated, I constituted a review committee comprising representatives of the audit firm and labour union leaders in the state,” the letter read.
The committee was tasked with examining the original audit findings and addressing concerns raised by stakeholders regarding the inclusion of certain names on the list.
Governor Adeleke also requested that the ICPC deploy forensic auditors to examine both the initial audit report and the review committee’s findings.
He said the purpose was “to authenticate the correctness or otherwise of the review committee report vis-à-vis the report submitted by the audit firm.”
The governor confirmed that copies of both reports had been forwarded to the commission and expressed appreciation for the agency’s anticipated consideration of the request.
On Friday, the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the state government traded words ok the alleged payroll audit which involved the sum of N13.7 billion.
While the Osun APC alleged the existence of a N13.7 billion annual payroll fraud under the administration of Governor Ademola Adeleke, the state government dismissed the allegations and said such did not exists.
The Osun PDP on its own described the accusation as misleading and linked it to a disputed audit exercise covering a period before the current administration assumed office.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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