President Bola Tinubu has approved a comprehensive forensic audit of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System, IPPIS, and other Federal Government agencies, ministries and departments.
This was contained in a Statehouse press release issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga.
According to the statement, the President directed the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, to oversee and coordinate the exercise.
The directive follows the Federal Executive Council’s resolution of 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 audit will establish the nature and extent of weaknesses in Government’s control system and how such weaknesses have been exploited.
It will be conducted in two components.
The first will focus on a forensic review of Government systems, particularly IPPIS and related payroll, personnel, pension and financial-management platforms. It will examine cases of ghost workers and payroll fraud, reconcile figures identified by the ICPC, and review access, identity, biometric and bank-account controls.
The exercise will also examine interfaces between IPPIS and other platforms including GIFMIS, Remita, the Treasury Single Account, TSA, and Sub-TSA, to determine if fraud resulted from system defects, process failures, or deliberate circumvention.
The second component will cover all Federal Government agencies, departments, commissions, councils and parastatals. It will establish a definitive inventory of such bodies, verify their legal basis, and examine how they obtain budgetary consideration, office facilities and access to government systems.
The statement added that President Tinubu directed that the audit be conducted with the highest standards of independence and forensic integrity, with full access to relevant government records.
The audit team will also collaborate with the ICPC to complement ongoing investigations, prosecutions and recoveries.
President Tinubu said the exercise is aimed at strengthening transparency, accountability, fiscal governance and institutional integrity across the Federal Government.
Tinubu Approves Forensic Audit Of IPPIS, MDAs Over Ghost Workers, Fake Agencies
