By Mercy Odeh (Content Editor)

ABUJA, NIGERIA– President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a comprehensive forensic audit of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), Federal Government agencies and other government systems following concerns over ghost workers, fake agencies and weaknesses in internal controls.

The President directed the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, to oversee and coordinate the exercise, which is expected to determine the extent of vulnerabilities in government systems and how they may have been exploited.

The directive followed a resolution of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on August 19, 2026, based on findings by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) concerning alleged fake agencies, ghost workers and other control failures within the Federal Government.

According to a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the exercise will have two interconnected components.

The first component will involve a forensic audit of government systems, with particular attention to IPPIS and related payroll, personnel, pension and financial management platforms.

The audit will examine reported cases of ghost workers and payroll fraud, reconcile figures identified by the ICPC, trace how fictitious or ineligible persons were enrolled and assess access, identity, biometric and bank-account controls.

It will also scrutinise 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 exercise will determine whether identified irregularities 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 closing systemic gaps 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 collaborate with the ICPC to ensure that its work complements ongoing investigations, prosecutions and recovery efforts.

The President said the exercise must go beyond identifying individual cases of fraud or administrative failures, stressing the need to strengthen the architecture of government, close systemic loopholes, improve data verification and reconciliation, reinforce accountability and ensure that only legally constituted entities and eligible personnel have access to government resources.

The exercise, the statement said, underscores Tinubu’s commitment to strengthening transparency, accountability, fiscal governance and institutional integrity across the Federal Government.