President Bola Tinubu has ordered a comprehensive forensic audit of the Federal Government’s personnel, payroll and financial-management systems, including the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), following revelations of ghost workers, payroll fraud and irregular government agencies.

The directive was disclosed in a statement issued on Friday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.

According to the statement, Tinubu directed the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, to oversee the exercise, which will cover IPPIS, Federal Government agencies and their administrative and internal control systems.

The directive followed a resolution of the Federal Executive Council on August 19, 2026, prompted by findings from the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission on alleged fake agencies, ghost workers and other control failures within the Federal Government.

The audit, according to the Presidency, is intended to establish the nature and extent of weaknesses in government’s control systems and determine how such weaknesses may have been exploited.

The exercise will have two major components. The first 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, trace how fictitious or ineligible persons were enrolled and review access, identity, biometric and bank-account controls.

The audit will also examine the interfaces between IPPIS and other government platforms, including the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System, Remita, the Treasury Single Account and Sub-Treasury Account.

It will seek to determine whether identified fraud resulted from system defects, process failures, inadequate segregation of duties or deliberate circumvention of established controls.

The second component will cover Federal Government ministries, departments, agencies, commissions, councils, parastatals and other government bodies.

The exercise will establish a definitive inventory of such entities and verify their legal basis, while examining how they obtain official recognition, budgetary consideration, correspondence privileges, office facilities and access to government systems.

It will also assess governance, procurement, internal audit and oversight mechanisms across government, with the aim of preventing irregular entities or individuals from accessing public resources.

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.

Onanuga said the President expects the exercise to go beyond identifying individual cases of fraud or administrative failure.

Rather, the audit will focus on strengthening government systems, closing systemic loopholes, improving data verification and reconciliation, reinforcing accountability and ensuring that only duly constituted entities and eligible personnel have access to public resources.

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