Ghost Workers: Finance Ministry To Lead Forensic Audit Of MDA's

BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja

Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele

The Ministry of Finance has been tipped off to lead a comprehensive forensic audit of the Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, in order to eliminate ghost workers. 

This is even as the Ministry is expected to coordinate a review of the Federal Government's accounting systems, including the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System ,IPPIS.

 

This followed a resolution by the Federal Executive Council , FEC, on August 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.

President Bola Tinubu had on Friday disclosed that the exercise will establish the nature and extent of weaknesses in the government’s control system, and determine how such weaknesses have been exploited.

The first review will focus on a forensic audit of government systems, particularly IPPIS and related payroll, personnel, pension and financial-management platforms. 

It will also 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.

 

The exercise will determine the interface between IPPIS and other government platforms, including GIFMIS, Remita, the Treasury Single Account ,TSA, and Sub-TSA, to ascertain whether fraud resulted from system defects, process failures, inadequate segregation of duties or deliberate circumvention.

On the second component which is the MDAs and other government bodies, the audit will verify their legal status, while examining how entities obtained official recognition, budgetary consideration, correspondence privileges, office facilities and access to the government systems.

The exercise will assess governance, procurement, internal-audit, and oversight controls across the government, meant to close systemic weaknesses that could allow irregular entities or persons to access public resources.

 

President Tinubu directed that the exercise be conducted with the highest standards of independence, professionalism and forensic integrity. 

Also, the audit team will have access to relevant government systems and records, while partnering with the ICPC to ensure that the review complements all ongoing investigations, prosecutions and recoveries. 

 

Tinubu expects the exercise to go beyond identifying individual cases of fraud or administrative failure to strengthening the government systems, closing loopholes, improving data verification and reconciliation, reinforcing accountability, and ensuring that only duly constituted entities and eligible personnel have access to government resources.

 

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