President Bola Tinubu has ordered a comprehensive forensic audit of Federal Government systems following reports of ghost workers, payroll fraud and the existence of “fake agencies”.
The President directed the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, to oversee and coordinate the exercise.
Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed this in a statement issued on Friday.
According to him, the audit will cover the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), Federal Government agencies, as well as their administration and internal control systems.
The directive followed the Federal Executive Council’s resolution of Aug. 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.
Onanuga said the exercise would establish the nature and extent of weaknesses in the government’s control systems and determine how such weaknesses had been exploited.
He said the review would 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,” he said.
Onanuga said the exercise would also examine the interfaces between IPPIS and other government platforms, including the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), Remita, the Treasury Single Account (TSA) and Sub-TSA.
The review, he added, would determine whether fraud resulted from system defects, process failures, inadequate segregation of duties or deliberate circumvention of established controls.
The second component of the audit will cover all Federal Government agencies, departments, commissions, councils, parastatals and other government bodies.
According to Onanuga, the exercise will establish a definitive inventory of such bodies and verify their legal basis.
It will also examine 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,” he said.
Tinubu also directed 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 that the review complements ongoing investigations, prosecutions and recoveries.
Onanuga said the President expected the exercise to go beyond identifying individual cases of fraud or administrative failure.
He said the objective was to strengthen the architecture of government, close systemic loopholes, improve data verification and reconciliation, reinforce accountability and ensure that only duly constituted entities and eligible personnel had access to government resources.
The exercise, he added, underscored the President’s commitment to strengthening transparency, accountability, fiscal governance and institutional integrity across the Federal Government.
