President Bola Tinubu has ordered a comprehensive forensic audit of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System, other Federal Government financial platforms and all federal agencies following findings relating to alleged ghost workers, “fake agencies” and weaknesses in government control systems.
The President directed the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, to oversee the exercise, which will examine how weaknesses in government systems may have been exploited to access public funds.
The directive was disclosed on Friday in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
According to the Presidency, the exercise follows a resolution of the Federal Executive Council on August 19, 2026, after considering findings by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission concerning alleged fictitious government entities, ghost workers and other failures in public-sector controls.
The Presidency said the audit would “establish the nature and extent of weaknesses in Government’s control system, and determine how such weaknesses have been exploited.”
The exercise will be divided into two interconnected components, with the first concentrating on a forensic examination of government payroll, personnel, pension and financial-management systems, particularly IPPIS.
Under this component, auditors will investigate reported cases of ghost workers and payroll fraud, reconcile figures identified by the ICPC and determine how fictitious or otherwise ineligible persons were allegedly enrolled on government payroll systems.
The review will also scrutinise identity verification, biometric controls, access privileges and bank-account information associated with payroll payments.
According to the statement, the audit will seek to determine whether identified irregularities arose from technological defects, weaknesses in administrative processes, inadequate segregation of responsibilities or deliberate circumvention of established controls.
It will also examine the relationship between IPPIS and other major Federal Government financial platforms, including the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System, Remita, the Treasury Single Account and Sub-Treasury Account.
The objective is to identify vulnerabilities across interconnected government platforms and determine whether weaknesses in one system could be exploited to obtain unauthorised payments or access public funds.
The second component will extend the forensic review to Federal Government ministries, departments, agencies, commissions, councils, parastatals and other public bodies.
The Presidency said the exercise would establish a definitive inventory of federal entities and verify the legal basis upon which each one operates.
Auditors are also expected to investigate the process through which government entities obtain official recognition, budgetary allocations, correspondence privileges, office accommodation and access to Federal Government systems.
The review will scrutinise governance structures, procurement practices, internal audit arrangements and oversight mechanisms across the government.
According to the Presidency, the aim is “to close systemic weaknesses that could allow irregular entities or persons to access public resources.”
The exercise is therefore expected to go beyond identifying individual ghost workers by examining the institutional and technological weaknesses that make payroll fraud, unauthorised entities and other irregularities possible.
Tinubu directed that the audit be conducted “with the highest standards of independence, professionalism and forensic integrity.”
The findings are expected to provide the government with a basis for strengthening payroll controls, identifying improperly constituted or unrecognised entities, tightening access to public funds and addressing weaknesses across federal financial-management systems.
