President Bola Tinubu has ordered the ‘comprehensive’ forensic audit of the Federal Government systems following reports of ghost workers and “fake agencies”.
The audit will include a review of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), Federal Government agencies, and their administration and internal controls, presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said in a statement on Friday.
He said the Minister of Finance and Co-ordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, is to oversee and coordinate a comprehensive forensic audit.
Tinubu’s directive came in the wake of the Federal Executive Council’s resolution on August 19, 2026, in response to findings by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on “fake agencies”, ghost workers, and other control failures.
“The exercise will establish the nature and extent of weaknesses in the government’s control system and determine how such weaknesses have been exploited. The review will comprise two interconnected components.
“The first will focus on a forensic audit of Government systems, particularly IPPIS and related payroll, personnel, pension and financial-management platforms. It will examine reported cases of ghost workers and payroll fraud, reconcile the figures identified by the ICPC, trace how fictitious or ineligible persons were enrolled, and review access, identity, biometric and bank-account controls,” the statement read in part.
“The exercise will also examine the interfaces between IPPIS and other government platforms, including GIFMIS, Remita, the Treasury Single Account (TSA) and Sub-TSA, to determine whether fraud resulted from system defects, process failures, inadequate segregation of duties or deliberate circumvention.
The second component of the audit will cover all Federal Government agencies, departments, commissions, councils, parastatals and other government bodies.
It will establish a definitive inventory of such bodies and verify their legal basis while examining how entities obtain official recognition, budgetary consideration, correspondence privileges, office facilities and access to government systems, Onanuga noted.
“The exercise will assess governance, procurement, internal audit, and oversight controls across Government to close systemic weaknesses that could allow irregular entities or persons to access public resources,” he said.
He also ordered 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. It will collaborate with the ICPC to ensure that the review complements all ongoing investigations, prosecutions and recoveries.
“President Tinubu expects the exercise to go beyond identifying individual cases of fraud or administrative failure by strengthening the architecture of Government, closing systemic loopholes, improving data verification and reconciliation, reinforcing accountability, and ensuring that only duly constituted entities and eligible personnel have access to Government resources,” the presidential spokesman added.
“The exercise underscores the President’s commitment to strengthening transparency, accountability, fiscal governance and institutional integrity across the Federal Government.”
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