The consultant engaged by the Osun State Government to carry out payroll verification, Sa’adat Bakrin-Ottun, has rejected allegations of incompetence leveled against her by the management of Osun State University.
Bakrin-Ottun was responding to claims by the university’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Clement Adebooye, that about 250 staff members were wrongly declared ghost workers during a payroll audit conducted by Sally Tibbot between May and June 2023.
According to the consultant, the audit report did not single out staff unfairly but instead recommended the removal of all principal officers of Osun State–owned tertiary institutions over allegations of impunity, financial recklessness and mismanagement of funds.
She further dismissed claims that she personally verified the vice chancellors credentials during the exercise, stating that Prof. Adebooye did not fall within the category of staff she was contracted to verify.
In the verification report exclusively obtained by The Punch, Bakrin-Ottun’s committee recommended the dismissal of principal officers across six state-owned tertiary institutions. The institutions listed include Osun State University; Osun State Polytechnic, Iree; Osun State College of Technology, Esa Oke; Osun State College of Education, Ilesa; Osun State College of Education, Ila Orangun; and Osun State College of Health Technology, Ilesa.
The report noted that the institutions were plagued by non-adherence to due process, financial mismanagement and an unusually high number of temporary and contract staff, which it said created avenues for fraudulent practices.
As part of its recommendations, the committee advised that all principal officers, including provosts, rectors, registrars and bursars, whether in acting or substantive capacities, should be relieved of their duties and made to hand over to the most senior officers in their respective establishments.
Responding further to the vice chancellor’s claims, Bakrin-Ottun alleged that some university staff were receiving double salaries from both the university and its teaching hospital, a practice she said her team refused to legitimise during the audit.
“They earn salaries at the university and earn full salaries again at the University Teaching Hospital. This is wrong. You can only earn a full salary in one place and receive stipends or allowances from another,” she said, adding that her refusal to endorse the practice triggered hostility from the university management.
Meanwhile, the management of Osun State University has demanded a formal apology from Sally Tibbot for declaring 250 of its staff as ghost workers. Speaking to journalists in Osogbo, Prof. Adebooye said he and 249 others were wrongly listed in the audit report and warned that the university might seek legal redress unless a public apology was issued.