Tinubu orders forensic audit of IPPIS, Federal Government agencies

By Benedicta Aboh

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, to oversee a comprehensive forensic audit of Federal Government systems, including the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS).

The directive also covers Federal Government agencies and their administration, governance structures and internal control mechanisms, with a view to uncovering weaknesses that may have facilitated fraud and the abuse of public resources.

The exercise follows a resolution of the Federal Executive Council on August 19, 2026, which came after findings by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on alleged fake government agencies, ghost workers and other control failures within the public sector.

According to a statement by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the audit will determine the nature and extent of weaknesses in the government’s control systems and establish how such loopholes may have been exploited.

The first component of the exercise will focus on IPPIS and related payroll, personnel, pension and financial management platforms. It 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 on government systems.

The audit will also scrutinise access, identity, biometric and bank-account controls, as well as the interfaces between IPPIS and other government platforms, including GIFMIS, Remita, the Treasury Single Account and Sub-TSA.

The second component will cover all Federal Government ministries, departments, agencies, commissions, councils, parastatals and other government bodies. It will establish a definitive inventory of such entities and verify their legal status and basis for existence.

The review will further examine governance, procurement, internal audit and oversight mechanisms across government, with the aim of shutting down systemic loopholes that could enable irregular entities or ineligible persons to gain access to public funds and other government resources.

President Tinubu 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 exercise complements ongoing investigations, prosecutions and recoveries.

The President, according to the statement, expects the audit to go beyond identifying individual cases of fraud or administrative failures by strengthening government systems, improving data verification and reconciliation, reinforcing accountability and ensuring that only duly constituted entities and eligible personnel have access to public resources.

The exercise, the statement said, underscores the President’s commitment to strengthening transparency, accountability, fiscal governance and institutional integrity across the Federal Government.