ABUJA — President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered a comprehensive forensic audit of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) and all Federal Government agencies amid concerns over 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 the exercise, which is aimed at uncovering the nature and extent of weaknesses in government systems and determining how such loopholes may have been exploited.
The directive followed a resolution of the Federal Executive Council on August 19, 2026, based on findings by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) concerning ghost workers, payroll fraud and the existence of purported “fake agencies” within the Federal Government.
The first phase of the audit will scrutinise IPPIS and related payroll, personnel, pension and financial-management platforms. It will also reconcile figures identified by the ICPC, trace how fictitious or ineligible persons gained access to the payroll system and examine identity, biometric, bank-account and access controls.
The second component will cover federal ministries, departments, agencies, commissions, councils, parastatals and other government bodies to establish a definitive inventory and verify their legal status. The exercise will also examine procurement, governance, internal audit and oversight mechanisms, including the links between IPPIS, GIFMIS, Remita, the Treasury Single Account (TSA) and Sub-TSA.
President Tinubu ordered that the audit be conducted with the highest standards of independence and forensic integrity, with the team granted access to relevant government records and systems. According to the statement by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the exercise is expected not only to identify fraud but also to plug systemic loopholes, strengthen accountability and ensure that only legitimate entities and eligible personnel access public resources.
