Payroll While Abroad? Questions Trail Ogun Governor’s Aide Amid Canada Refugee Claim

Serious questions are emerging over payroll integrity and staff oversight in Ogun State following allegations that a media aide to Governor Dapo Abiodun may have relocated to Canada to pursue refugee protection while allegedly remaining on the state government’s payroll.

Multiple sources within the state civil service told this newspaper that Emmanuel Ojo, Senior Special Assistant on New Media, is still listed as active staff attached to the governor’s office, despite reports that he has been outside Nigeria for an extended period. Official records confirming resignation, approved leave, or disengagement could not be immediately established as of press time.

At the heart of the controversy is not migration itself, but a fundamental governance issue. Was a serving government aide physically absent from duty while continuing to receive public funds, and if so, who authorised it?

Public service regulations require formal clearance for extended absence, foreign relocation, or resignation. Failure to comply raises potential red flags ranging from administrative negligence to payroll abuse. Analysts note that if salary payments continued during an unapproved absence, the issue would extend beyond one individual to systemic weaknesses within the state’s personnel and payroll controls.

While refugee and asylum applications are protected by strict privacy laws, travel history, payroll records, and staff nominal rolls are verifiable public-interest documents. These records can establish whether the aide remained in active service, whether payments continued, and whether supervising authorities were aware of his whereabouts.

The Ogun State Government has not issued an official response to the allegations. Officials contacted said they were not formally briefed and declined comment.

As scrutiny intensifies, the case is fast becoming a test of transparency in an era when the “Japa” migration wave is colliding with weak institutional monitoring. The central question remains unanswered: how many public officials may be absent from duty, abroad, yet still quietly drawing salaries from state coffers?