Tinubu Orders Forensic Audit Of Ministries, Federal Agencies

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered a comprehensive forensic audit of federal government systems and institutions as part of efforts to strengthen accountability, improve fiscal governance and tackle fraud within the public sector.

According to Ireporter Online, the President has directed the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, to coordinate the exercise, which will cover the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), federal government agencies and their administrative and internal control structures.

The directive followed a Federal Executive Council resolution reached on August 19, 2026, in response to findings presented by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) concerning alleged ghost workers, payroll irregularities, fictitious agencies and weaknesses in government control systems.

A statement issued on Friday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the audit would determine the extent of weaknesses within government systems and establish how such loopholes may have been exploited.

The exercise will have two major components. The first will involve a forensic review of government payroll, personnel, pension and financial-management systems, particularly IPPIS and related platforms.

Investigators are expected to examine reported cases of ghost workers and payroll fraud, reconcile figures identified by the ICPC and trace how fictitious or ineligible individuals were enrolled into government payroll systems.

The audit will also examine identity verification, biometric records, bank-account controls and system-access procedures to determine how irregularities occurred and whether they were caused by technological weaknesses, administrative failures, poor separation of responsibilities or deliberate circumvention of established procedures.

The review will further assess the connections between IPPIS and other government financial platforms, including GIFMIS, Remita, the Treasury Single Account and Sub-Treasury Single Account.

The second aspect of the exercise will focus on federal ministries, departments, agencies, commissions, councils, parastatals and other government institutions.

It will seek to establish a verified database of federal government entities, determine their legal foundations and examine how they obtain official recognition, budgetary allocations, government facilities and access to public systems.

The audit will also scrutinise governance, procurement, internal audit and oversight mechanisms across government institutions in a bid to identify and shut down loopholes that could allow unauthorised individuals or entities to benefit from public resources.

President Tinubu has directed that the exercise be conducted independently and professionally, with the audit team granted access to relevant government records and systems.

The team will also work with the ICPC to ensure that the forensic review complements ongoing investigations, prosecutions and recovery efforts.

The President said the exercise should go beyond identifying individual cases of fraud and instead lead to broader reforms capable of strengthening government systems, improving data verification, closing loopholes and ensuring that only legitimate institutions and eligible personnel have access to public resources.

The initiative is expected to form part of the administration’s wider efforts to promote transparency, accountability and institutional integrity across the Federal Government.