Tinubu orders forensic audit of government payroll, agencies over ghost workers
President Bola Tinubu has ordered a comprehensive forensic audit of federal government payroll systems and agencies following reports of ghost workers, fictitious entities and weaknesses in administrative controls.
The presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, said in a statement on Friday that the audit would cover the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), federal government agencies and their administrative and internal control systems.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has been directed to oversee and coordinate the exercise.
The directive followed a Federal Executive Council resolution on 19 August, prompted by findings from the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) concerning “fake agencies”, ghost workers and other control failures.
According to Onanuga, the audit will establish the scale of weaknesses in government control systems and determine how they have been exploited.
One component will focus on IPPIS and related payroll, personnel, pension and financial management platforms. It will investigate reported cases of ghost workers and payroll fraud, reconcile figures identified by the ICPC and trace how fictitious or ineligible individuals were enrolled.
The review will also examine access, identity, biometric and bank account controls, as well as the links between IPPIS and other government platforms, including the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), Remita, the Treasury Single Account and Sub-Treasury Single Account.
The aim, Onanuga said, is to determine whether irregularities resulted from system defects, procedural failures, inadequate separation of duties or deliberate circumvention of controls.
The second component will examine all federal government ministries, departments, agencies, commissions, councils, parastatals and other public bodies.
It will establish a definitive inventory of such entities, verify their legal basis and examine how they obtain official recognition, budgetary allocations, correspondence privileges, office facilities and access to government systems.
The audit will also assess governance, procurement, internal audit and oversight arrangements across government, with the aim of closing loopholes that could allow unauthorised entities or individuals to gain access to public resources.
Tinubu directed that the exercise be conducted with the highest standards of independence, professionalism and forensic integrity. The audit team will have access to relevant government systems and records and will work with the ICPC to ensure its findings complement existing investigations, prosecutions and recovery efforts.
The president expects the exercise to go beyond identifying individual cases of fraud or administrative failure, Onanuga said, by strengthening government systems, improving data verification and reconciliation, reinforcing accountability and ensuring that only legally constituted entities and eligible personnel have access to public resources.
The exercise, he added, reflects Tinubu’s commitment to improving transparency, accountability, fiscal governance and institutional integrity across the federal government.