The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) recently uncovered monumental payroll fraud in not less than 50 federal government’s Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). According to the Chairman of the ICPC, Dr. Musa Aliyu, the anti-graft agency uncovered 908 fake workers operating across at least 50 MDAs and recovered N942million allegedly diverted through fraudulent salary payments.

The ICPC boss explained that the revelation was the result of an investigation the agency launched in 2024 following irregularities detected in pension payments. Of the 50 MDAS investigated, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) topped the list with 570 ghost workers.

It was followed by the National Water Resources Authority with 80 fake workers and the Ministry of Works with 56 ghost workers. Similarly, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had 24 fake workers; the Ministry of Defence with 19; the Ministry of Power and the Ministry of 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 ICPC also noted that the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Ministry of Interior were affected by the payroll fraud. However, it did not disclose the number of fake workers in the two institutions because the investigations were still ongoing.

The ICPC also revealed how a senior government official allegedly inserted the names of his wife, son, and mother-in-law into the federal payroll system, while also collecting salaries meant for other 12 fictitious workers. We laud the ICPC for the mind-boggling payroll fraud uncovered in the affected MDAs.

The ghost workers’ syndrome is not new in the MDAs. In 2016, not less than 50,000 fictitious workers were reportedly removed from the federal payroll system. It is worth stating that lack of administrative oversight in these agencies has made the practice to continue unabated. Nigeria must have lost billions of naira as a result of payroll fraud.

Despite having the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) in place, it is shocking that the number of ghost workers in the MDAs is on the increase. At the same time, it is likely that internal syndicates within agency accounts might be manipulating data bases to inflate workers’ salaries and equally habour fake records. Having discovered the sleaze in only 50 MDAs, we urge the ICPC to investigate the remaining MDAs. We say this because ghost workers might be there too.

Perhaps this is the right time for the ICPC to beam its searchlight on MDAs at the state level in conjunction with the state government. There is no doubt that there might be many ghost workers at that level too. There are likely to be some fictitious workers at the local government level as well. The universities and other tertiary institutions may habour hundreds of ghost workers.

No doubt, the current payroll scandal has inadvertently exposed the inherent structural weaknesses in the IPPIS. The IPPIS was launched some years ago with much celebration to centralise the payment of workers’ salaries, eliminate manual errors, and block ghost workers through biometric validation. At its inception, it was celebrated as a positive move to eliminate public corruption. However, the ICPC’s recent discovery proves that digital tools are only as secure as the personnel managing them.

It appears that unscrupulous government officials have discovered how to manipulate the IPPIS to achieve their devilish aims. The government must evolve technical tools to check the rising payroll fraud in the MDAs. State governments should begin investigations of their MDAs to check ghost workers syndrome. The same applies to the local governments. Payroll scams pose serious socio-economic consequences for the country. The N942million fraud should have been used to solve one problem or the other in the education or health sector.

Addressing the systemic payroll fraud requires more than occasional audits or temporary financial recoveries. The federal government must ensure that all indicted officials are duly prosecuted. Remitting the recovered N942 million to the government coffers is not enough. There must be stiffer sanctions against those perpetrating the fraud. In other words, those behind the criminality must be brought to justice to serve as a deterrent to others.

The IPPIS platform should be upgraded and equipped with fraud alert system. The system should be regularly upgraded to minimise fraud and ghost workers. The police payroll system should be weaned of ghost workers too. Beyond revealing the fraudulent practices, there must be institutional capacity and readiness to timely check them.

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