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President Bola Tinubu directed Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele on Friday to lead a comprehensive forensic audit of Nigerian government systems, including the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS).
Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga confirmed the order in an official statement released on Friday, August 28, explaining that the audit follows an August 19 Federal Executive Council resolution sparked by ICPC discoveries of ghost workers and fake agencies.
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 first phase of the initiative will review IPPIS, pension records, and financial management platforms to “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.”
Investigators will analyse system connections across the Treasury Single Account, Remita, and GIFMIS to uncover whether flaws stemmed from technical defects, process failures, or deliberate circumvention.
The second phase will verify the legal status, governance, procurement, and oversight controls of all Nigerian government agencies, departments, and parastatals.
The audit team will work alongside the ICPC with full access to official records.
Onanuga noted that Tinubu expects the investigation to go beyond individual fraud cases 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.”
