By Peter Dansu The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has uncovered a massive payroll fraud involvi...
By Peter Dansu
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has uncovered a massive payroll fraud involving 908 ghost workers across at least 50 federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), exposing widespread abuse of Nigeria's public payroll system and leading to the recovery of N942 million allegedly siphoned through fraudulent salary payments.
ICPC Chairman, Dr. Musa Aliyu, disclosed that the discovery followed an extensive investigation launched in 2024 after suspicious irregularities were detected in pension payments. The investigation revealed that the Nigeria Police Force recorded the highest number of ghost workers, with 570 fictitious names on its payroll.
The National Water Resources Authority ranked next with 80 fake workers, followed by the Federal Ministry of Works with 56. Other affected institutions include the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with 24 ghost workers, the Ministry of Defence with 19, the Ministries of Power and Industry, Trade and Investment with 17 each, the Ministry of Health with 15, and the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation with 12.
The anti-corruption agency also confirmed that the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Ministry of Interior were implicated in the payroll fraud, although the number of ghost workers in both institutions has not been disclosed as investigations are still ongoing.
In one of the most shocking discoveries, investigators uncovered a senior government official who allegedly inserted the names of his wife, son and mother-in-law into the federal payroll while also receiving salaries for 12 additional fictitious workers.
The latest revelations have reignited concerns over the effectiveness of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), which was introduced to eliminate payroll fraud through centralized salary administration and biometric verification. Despite the platform's introduction, the ICPC's findings suggest that internal collaborators may have continued to manipulate the system for personal gain.
The development also raises fresh questions about administrative oversight within government institutions. In 2016, more than 50,000 ghost workers were reportedly removed from the federal payroll, yet the recurrence of similar fraud indicates that loopholes within the system remain largely unresolved.
Analysts say the fraud may represent only a fraction of a much larger problem, as investigations have so far covered just 50 MDAs. They have called on the ICPC to widen its probe to other federal agencies, as well as state and local government institutions where similar payroll manipulation may exist.
Experts also believe tertiary institutions and other publicly funded establishments should be subjected to comprehensive payroll audits to identify and eliminate fictitious employees draining public resources.
Beyond recovering the N942 million, stakeholders are urging the federal government to ensure that every official linked to the fraud is prosecuted. They argue that financial recovery alone is insufficient and that severe sanctions are necessary to deter future abuse of the payroll system.
There are also growing calls for a comprehensive upgrade of the IPPIS platform with advanced fraud detection mechanisms, continuous system monitoring and stricter access controls to prevent insiders from manipulating payroll records.
With billions of naira potentially lost to ghost workers over the years, the latest ICPC findings have once again highlighted the urgent need for stronger institutional accountability, tighter payroll controls and decisive action against corruption within Nigeria's public service.
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