President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered a comprehensive forensic audit of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) and Federal Government ministries, departments and agencies as part of measures to uncover ghost workers, payroll fraud, ‘fake agencies’ and other weaknesses through which public resources may have been diverted.
The President directed the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, to oversee and coordinate the exercise, which will also scrutinise the administration and internal controls of government institutions.
The directive followed a resolution of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) at its August 19, 2026 meeting in response to findings by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on the existence of ‘fake agencies’, ghost workers and other failures in government control systems.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed this in a statement yesterday.
According to the statement, the audit is designed to establish the nature and extent of weaknesses in the Federal Government’s control systems and determine how such vulnerabilities have been exploited.
The exercise will be undertaken in two interconnected components, with the first concentrating 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 and establish how fictitious or otherwise ineligible persons were enrolled on government payrolls.
It will also scrutinise access, identity, biometric and bank-account controls to determine weaknesses that may have facilitated fraudulent enrolment or payments.
Beyond IPPIS, the exercise will examine its interfaces with other government financial platforms, including the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), Remita, the Treasury Single Account (TSA) and Sub-TSA.
According to the statement, investigators are expected to determine whether identified fraud arose from defects in government systems, failures in administrative processes, inadequate segregation of duties or deliberate circumvention of established controls.
The second component will involve a sweeping review of all Federal Government agencies, departments, commissions, councils, parastatals and other government bodies.
Under this phase, the audit will establish a definitive inventory of Federal Government entities and verify the legal basis for their existence.
It will also investigate the processes through which government bodies obtain official recognition, budgetary consideration, correspondence privileges, office facilities and access to government systems.
The Presidency said the review would further assess governance, procurement, internal audit and oversight controls across the Federal Government, with a view to shutting loopholes that could enable irregular entities or unauthorised persons to gain access to public resources.
Tinubu directed that the exercise be conducted to the highest standards of independence, professionalism and forensic integrity.
To facilitate a thorough investigation, the audit team will be granted access to relevant government systems and records.
It will also work with the ICPC to ensure that the forensic review complements ongoing investigations, prosecutions and recovery efforts by the anti-corruption agency.
The President said the exercise must extend beyond merely uncovering individual cases of fraud or administrative lapses and address structural weaknesses that make such abuses possible.
According to the statement, the administration expects the audit to strengthen the architecture of government, close systemic loopholes, improve data verification and reconciliation and reinforce accountability across federal institutions.
It is also expected to ensure that only legally constituted government entities and eligible personnel have access to public funds and other government resources.
The Presidency said the comprehensive exercise underscored Tinubu’s commitment to strengthening transparency, accountability, fiscal governance and institutional integrity across the Federal Government.