UNIOSUN Threatens Legal Action over Audit Report Labelling VC, 249 Staff as Ghost Workers

ByEditor

Feb 21, 2026 #Nigerian higher education integrity, #Nigerian university payroll, #Osogbo news, #Osun State University VC, #Sally Tibbot audit controversy, #staff audit 2023, #UNIOSUN ghost workers, #UNIOSUN legal action

Segun Atanda/

The Osun State University has threatened legal action against the consulting firm that labelled the Vice-Chancellor and 249 other staff members as “ghost workers” in a 2023 Osun State staff audit.

Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, Professor Odunayo Clement Adebooye said the report by Sally Tibbot Consulting was “precariously subjective, unprofessional, and a deliberate attempt to smear the image and reputation of the University.”

“The audit report categorised 250 legitimate members of staff, including myself, as ghost workers, despite their physical presence, valid credentials, and full compliance with the verification process,” he said. “This is an insult not only to my office but to the entire institution.”

The Vice-Chancellor outlined the chaotic nature of the May/June 2023 verification exercise.

With 1,017 staff members scheduled for verification in a single day alongside personnel from other state agencies, he said the process was hampered by grossly inadequate and unskilled staff, leaving employees under the sun for hours.

“The consultant’s behaviour was unacceptable. She displayed arrogance and indiscipline, even insulting one of our Professors,” Adebooye added. “Her ignorance of university operations, terms like Sabbatical Leave, Study Leave, and Research Leave, led to the wrongful classification of numerous staff as ghost workers.”

According to the VC, the firm merged retired and resigned staff into the ghost worker list, seemingly to achieve an inflated figure for pecuniary gain.

“We request a formal apology from Sally Tibbot Consulting. The Vice-Chancellor, eminent Professors, and our staff have received embarrassing calls, messages, and letters from local and international organisations as a result of this report,” he said.

Adebooye stressed that UNIOSUN operates a rigorous, real-time payroll verification system that safeguards against ghost workers and salary padding.

He said the University remains open to any lawful and professionally conducted review by competent authorities and is confident that an independent reassessment will confirm the legitimacy of its staff records.

“The section of the report that lists myself and 249 legitimate staff members as ghost workers is useless documentation that should be shredded. Sally Tibbot targeted our employment through an unprofessional, fraudulent, and misleading report. We will act individually, severally, and as a corporate body to address this mischief, as guaranteed by Nigerian law,” he warned.

The Vice-Chancellor concluded by urging the public and media to rely on facts rather than conjecture and emphasised the University’s commitment to truth, professionalism, and accountability.