JUST IN: Tinubu Orders Forensic Audit of IPPIS, MDAs to Fish Out Ghost Workers
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered a comprehensive forensic audit of the Federal Government’s personnel, payroll and administrative systems, including the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), following findings of ghost workers, “fake agencies” and other control failures.
The President directed the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, to oversee and coordinate the exercise, which will also cover Federal Government ministries, departments, agencies, commissions, councils, parastatals and other government bodies.
The directive followed a resolution of the Federal Executive Council on August 19, 2026, in response to findings by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) concerning irregular government entities, ghost workers and weaknesses in the Federal Government’s control systems.
According to a statement issued on Friday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the audit is expected to determine the nature and extent of weaknesses in government systems and establish how those weaknesses may have been exploited.
The exercise will comprise two interconnected components, with the first focusing on a forensic examination of government systems, particularly IPPIS and related payroll, personnel, pension and financial-management platforms.
The audit will investigate reported cases of ghost workers and payroll fraud, reconcile figures identified by the ICPC, trace how fictitious or ineligible persons were enrolled and scrutinise access, identity, biometric and bank-account controls.
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It will also examine the interfaces between IPPIS and other government platforms, including the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), Remita, the Treasury Single Account (TSA) and Sub-TSA.
The review is expected to determine whether identified fraud resulted from system defects, process failures, inadequate segregation of duties or deliberate circumvention of established controls.
The second component will cover all Federal Government agencies, departments, commissions, councils, parastatals and other government bodies.
It will establish a definitive inventory of such entities and verify their legal basis, while examining how government bodies obtain official recognition, budgetary consideration, correspondence privileges, office facilities and access to government systems.
The audit will further assess governance, procurement, internal-audit and oversight mechanisms across the Federal Government, with a view to eliminating systemic weaknesses that could enable irregular entities or individuals to gain access to public resources.
President 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 that the exercise complements ongoing investigations, prosecutions and recovery efforts.
The President said the exercise must go beyond identifying individual cases of fraud or administrative failure to strengthening the overall architecture of government.
It is also expected to close systemic loopholes, improve data verification and reconciliation, strengthen accountability and ensure that only legally constituted government entities and eligible personnel have access to public resources.
The Presidency said the exercise underscores Tinubu’s commitment to strengthening transparency, accountability, fiscal governance and institutional integrity across the Federal Government.
By PRNigeria
