At least one elderly pensioner slumped in Osogbo on Monday while awaiting the forensic audit of the Osun State Government’s workforce.

A source told FIJ that the Governor Ademola Adeleke-led government had called for the audit to screen the passive and active workers in the state.

The screening exercise, which was to take place at the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding in the Abere area of Osogbo, was yet to begin on Monday when the pensioner collapsed and was revived.

Checks by FIJ revealed that the exercise was suspended in August after Sa’adat Bakrin-Ottun of Sally Tibbot Consulting, the company handling the audit, was accused of molestation.

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As seen in some of the photos sighted by FIJ, some of the elderly citizens were standing while others sat on the floor, as there were no chairs in sight.

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Ayo Agboola, a resident who spoke with FIJ, said three pensioners collapsed because of prolonged waiting for the commencement of the screening. However, another resident said only one of them collapsed.

Agboola also told FIJ that the pensioners had earlier called for the decentralisation of the screening in consideration of the aged retirees with frail health. He, however, said the state government did nothing about it.

Agboola said, “The government wants to do the screening to know the total number of people they need to pay and to detect ghost workers among them. It’s a screening exercise. Also to know pensioners who have died and to know the actual people who need to be paid.

“Also, it is because the party of the new government is Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which differs from the past All Progressives Congress (APC) administration, so its normal for them to want to screen the workers.”

When FIJ reached out to Dele Aina, the secretary of the state chapter of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), he declined to comment, saying he was yet to ascertain the details of the incident.