Tinubu issues directive to minister
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, departments, agencies and other government institutions.
The directive is aimed at uncovering weaknesses in the systems used to manage government personnel, payroll, finances and public institutions, while also determining how such weaknesses may have been used to commit fraud or gain improper access to government resources.
The President’s decision followed a resolution of the Federal Executive Council on August 19, 2026, after findings by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, raised concerns about fake government agencies, ghost workers and other failures in government controls.
The audit will investigate the nature and extent of the problems identified and establish how they occurred.
It will also examine whether the weaknesses were caused by poor systems, faulty procedures, inadequate checks or deliberate actions by individuals seeking to bypass government controls.
One major area of the exercise will be IPPIS and other platforms used to manage government salaries, personnel records, pensions and financial transactions.
The audit team will investigate reported cases of ghost workers and payroll fraud and compare the information with records earlier identified by the ICPC.
It will also trace how fictitious or ineligible individuals may have been registered on government payrolls.
The team will examine the controls used to verify the identities of workers, including access arrangements, biometric information and bank account details.
It will also review how users gain access to government payroll systems and whether existing safeguards are strong enough to prevent unauthorised changes.
The relationship between IPPIS and other government financial platforms will also be examined.
These include the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System, GIFMIS, Remita, the Treasury Single Account and the Sub-Treasury Single Account.
The review will determine whether irregularities were linked to technical problems, failures in procedures, weak separation of duties or deliberate attempts to avoid established rules.
The second part of the audit will cover Federal Government agencies, departments, commissions, councils, parastatals and other public institutions.
As part of the process, the government will work towards creating a reliable and complete record of all federal government bodies.
Their legal status and basis for existence will also be checked to determine whether they were properly established.
The audit will examine how government institutions receive official recognition and gain access to government budgets, correspondence, office facilities and government information systems.
Governance, procurement, internal audit and oversight procedures across federal institutions will also be reviewed.
The aim is to identify gaps that could allow improperly created agencies, unauthorised persons or other ineligible beneficiaries to gain access to public funds and government resources.
Tinubu has directed that the exercise be carried out independently and professionally, with proper forensic standards applied throughout the process.
The audit team will have access to relevant government records and systems needed for the investigation.
It will also work with the ICPC so that the exercise supports investigations, prosecutions and recovery efforts already being handled by the anti-corruption agency.
The Federal Government expects the audit to go beyond identifying individual cases of fraud. It will also look at the wider weaknesses within government systems and recommend measures to prevent similar problems from occurring in the future.
The findings are expected to support better verification of government data, improve the reconciliation of records and strengthen controls around public funds.
The exercise will also seek to ensure that only legally established government institutions and properly verified personnel can access government resources.
The Presidency said the audit is part of efforts to improve accountability, financial management, transparency and the overall integrity of Federal Government institutions.
