Adeleke Writes ICPC, Seeks Probe Into Alleged Osun Payroll Padding

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 state civil service.

In a letter dated February 20, 2026, addressed to the ICPC chairman through the commission’s Osogbo office, Adeleke asked the agency to authenticate reports arising from a staff audit conducted on the state’s payroll.

The governor stated in the correspondence 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 payroll records covering the period from 2018 to November 2022.

He explained that the review was aimed at assessing the integrity of the staff list and verifying expenditure on personnel, noting that the audit firm submitted its report on June 27, 2024.

Adeleke said he subsequently directed the implementation of the report’s recommendations in line with his administration’s objective of eliminating 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, he said, was tasked with examining the original audit findings and addressing concerns raised by stakeholders regarding the inclusion of certain names on the list.

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.

Meanwhile, the Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the state government recently traded words over the payroll audit involving an alleged N13.7 billion.

While the APC alleged the existence of an annual payroll fraud under Adeleke’s administration, the state government dismissed the claims, insisting that no such fraud exists.

The Osun chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) also described the allegation as misleading, linking it to a disputed audit exercise conducted before the current administration assumed office.