Nigeria, Jan. 10 -- The Osun State Government has dismissed allegations of an annual N13.7 billion payroll fraud, describing the claims by Sally Tibbot Consulting Limited as misleading and driven by an attempt to compel the state to accept what it called an inflated audit report.

In a statement issued on Friday by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, the government said a re-verification exercise conducted after receiving the consultant's report uncovered major discrepancies in the figures presented as ghost workers and retirees.

The statement came in response to a press briefing held earlier on Friday by the audit firm in Lagos to draw public attention to the audit's findings and alleged refusal of t...