By our Reporter
President Bola Tinubu has directed the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, to oversee a comprehensive forensic audit of Federal Government systems, including the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), ministries and federal agencies.
The directive followed a resolution of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on August 19, 2026, arising from findings by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on alleged “fake agencies”, ghost workers and other control failures within government systems.
According to a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the audit is expected to establish the nature and extent of weaknesses in the government’s control systems and determine how such weaknesses may have been exploited.
The exercise will focus on two major areas, including a forensic review of government systems, particularly IPPIS and related payroll, personnel, pension and financial-management platforms.
The audit will investigate reported cases of ghost workers and payroll fraud, reconcile figures identified by the ICPC and trace how fictitious or ineligible persons were enrolled. It will also examine access, identity, biometric and bank-account controls.
The review will further examine the interfaces between IPPIS and other government platforms, including the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), Remita, Treasury Single Account (TSA) and Sub-TSA, to determine whether identified irregularities resulted from system defects, process failures, inadequate segregation of duties or deliberate circumvention.
The second component will cover all Federal Government agencies, departments, commissions, councils, parastatals and other government bodies, with the aim of establishing a definitive inventory and verifying 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 is expected to assess governance, procurement, internal audit and oversight mechanisms across government, with a view to closing systemic weaknesses that could allow irregular entities or individuals to gain access to public resources.
President Tinubu directed that the audit 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 collaborate with the ICPC to ensure that the exercise complements ongoing investigations, prosecutions and recoveries.
The President said the exercise must go beyond identifying individual cases of fraud or administrative failures, stressing the need to strengthen government architecture, close systemic loopholes, improve data verification and reconciliation, reinforce accountability and ensure that only duly constituted entities and eligible personnel have access to government resources.
The forensic audit, according to the Presidency, underscores Tinubu’s commitment to strengthening transparency, accountability, fiscal governance and institutional integrity across the Federal Government.
