President Bola Tinubu has directed a comprehensive forensic audit of Federal Government systems, including the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), following reports of ghost workers and the existence of fake agencies. The directive was announced in a statement released on Friday, August 28, by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga.
Audit to Cover IPPIS and Government Platforms
The audit will include a review of IPPIS, Federal Government agencies, and their administration and internal controls. Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has been tasked to oversee and coordinate the exercise, according to Onanuga.
The directive follows a Federal Executive Council resolution passed 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.
Two Components of the Forensic Exercise
Onanuga explained that 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 component focuses 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 figures identified by the ICPC, trace how fictitious or ineligible persons were enrolled, and review access, identity, biometric, and bank-account controls.
The audit will also examine interfaces between IPPIS and other government platforms, including GIFMIS, Remita, the Treasury Single Account (TSA), and Sub-TSA. This is to determine whether fraud resulted from system defects, process failures, inadequate segregation of duties, or deliberate circumvention.
Inventory of All Government Bodies
The second component of the audit will cover all Federal Government agencies, departments, commissions, councils, parastatals, and other government bodies. Onanuga said the audit 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.
“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,” said Onanuga.
Independence and Collaboration with ICPC
The president has 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 and will collaborate with the ICPC to ensure the review complements 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 statement read in part.
The statement concluded: “The exercise underscores the President’s commitment to strengthening transparency, accountability, fiscal governance and institutional integrity across the Federal Government.”
