President Bola Tinubu has ordered a comprehensive forensic audit of federal government systems, with an initial focus on the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) and other payroll, personnel and financial-management platforms.
Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the President Bayo Onanuga in a statement said Tinubu also directed the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Taiwo Oyedele to lead the exercise, which he described as an independent, professional review intended to establish the nature and extent of weaknesses in government controls and how those weaknesses were exploited.
The review follows a Federal Executive Council (FEC) resolution on August 19 and findings by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) that flagged “fake agencies,” ghost workers and other control failures.
The audit will reconcile figures identified by the ICPC and trace how fictitious or ineligible persons gained enrolment in payroll systems, the statement said.
According to Onanuga, the audit will be carried out in two linked parts.
The first will subject IPPIS and related systems to a forensic review of payroll records, personnel files, pensions and identity controls, including biometric and bank-account authentication.
Investigators will examine system interfaces with the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), Remita and the Treasury Single Account architecture to determine whether fraud stemmed from technical defects, procedural lapses, weak segregation of duties or deliberate circumvention.
The second component will survey all federal agencies, departments, commissions, councils, parastatals and other government bodies to produce a definitive inventory, verify legal mandates and assess how entities obtain official recognition, budget lines, correspondence privileges and access to government systems.
The review will evaluate governance, procurement, internal-audit and oversight controls to close systemic avenues that allow irregular bodies or personnel to tap public resources, the presidency said.
The audit team will have access to relevant government records and systems and will work with the ICPC to ensure coordination with ongoing investigations, prosecutions and asset-recovery efforts.
The statement said the exercise is intended not merely to identify individual cases of fraud but to strengthen government architecture, improve data verification and reconciliation, tighten accountability and ensure that only duly constituted entities and eligible personnel receive public funds.
“President Tinubu expects the exercise to be conducted with the highest standards of independence, professionalism and forensic integrity,” the statement said.
