The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has identified a troubling 22,074 questionable personnel on the Federal Government’s payroll, despite the implementation of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS). This discovery has raised alarms about ongoing payroll discrepancies within various Ministries, Departments, Agencies (MDAs), and tertiary institutions, with the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) being particularly affected.
According to the ICPC’s findings, in the previous year alone, the government allocated N37.1 billion to these suspicious employees. Among the discrepancies, the audit found 12,714 workers on MDAs’ payrolls who were not listed on the service-wide nominal roll from January to December. These irregularities are estimated to have cost the government N34.8 billion. Additionally, around 4,190 former police officers were still receiving payments through the IPPIS system.
This investigation, part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s anti-corruption efforts, revealed significant tampering within the IPPIS, including the presence of ghost workers and manipulation of payroll data. The ICPC uncovered various fraudulent practices, such as double salary payments, fictitious identities, and the operation of multiple IPPIS accounts. In one instance, 95 personnel across different MDAs were found on both the payroll and nominal roll, but inconsistencies emerged during identity verification.
Particularly alarming was the situation within the Ministry of Works, where 212 officers were found on the IPPIS payroll, drawing a monthly salary of N31.9 million, yet they were missing from both the ministry’s nominal roll and the service-wide roll.
The report further highlighted a discrepancy of 12,174 personnel between the nominal roll and payroll in 2023. The issue was most prevalent in the Nigeria Police Force, where thousands of former employees were still listed on the payroll. Out of 350,028 names on the NPF nominal roll and 312,047 on the payroll, 37,160 were flagged as “ex-employees.” However, 4,190 of these ex-employees continued to receive salaries, totaling nearly N1 billion in December 2023.
The ICPC’s detailed analysis also revealed instances of multiple IPPIS numbers linked to a single account, double salary payments, and payroll discrepancies within various MDAs. These findings underscore the urgent need for reforms and closer monitoring of the IPPIS system to prevent future financial abuses.
