Ayomide Awe
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission has uncovered alleged widespread manipulation of government payroll systems, including a case involving an official who reportedly enrolled 14 members of his family as government workers.
The ICPC Chairman, Musa Aliyu, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja, saying the commission’s investigation also uncovered another individual who allegedly placed his wife, children and other relatives on the government payroll and collected 13 salaries.
Aliyu made the disclosures while delivering the keynote address at the 2026 Economic Confidential Lecture and National Spokespersons Award organised by Image Merchants Promotions Limited.
The revelations highlight the extent to which payroll fraud could be depriving government of funds meant for public services while creating a network of fictitious employees and multiple salary beneficiaries.
According to the ICPC chairman, the commission discovered that one individual had allegedly manipulated the payroll system to accommodate 14 members of his family.
He said, “We discovered that one person enrolled 14 members of his family. He lived in a religious hotel, a hotel at the public office, receiving salaries.”
Aliyu said another suspected fraudster allegedly enrolled his wife, daughter, son and other relatives and collected salaries meant for 13 workers.
“Another person enrolled his wife, his daughter, his son, and others and was receiving 13 salaries,” he said.
The ICPC chairman further disclosed that the commission had identified about 900 suspected ghost workers whose names were published, challenging those affected to establish that they were genuine government employees.
He said the commission subsequently embarked on a year-long investigation to determine how the names were inserted into official payroll systems and how the funds were diverted.
“We spent one year, one single year, on ghost workers,” Aliyu said.
The investigation, according to him, uncovered a sophisticated manipulation of payroll and banking information.
Aliyu explained that in some instances, the names of suspected ghost workers appeared legitimately on government payrolls, complete with email addresses, but the bank accounts attached to the records belonged to other individuals.
“When they insert their names, you will see their name in the payroll. You will see their email. But when you check the account number, you will see the name of the person. So, that is how these things have been done,” he said.
The discovery raises questions about the effectiveness of existing payroll verification systems and the extent to which officials may have exploited weaknesses in government databases to divert public funds.
Aliyu warned that the financial implications of payroll fraud went beyond the monthly salaries allegedly paid to fictitious employees.
According to him, once a ghost worker is created within the government system, the fraudulent identity could potentially generate other benefits, including pension entitlements, mortgage and housing benefits and health insurance.
“Because, you know, once there is a ghost worker, there is ghost pension, there is ghost mortgage, there is ghost housing fund, there is ghost health insurance,” he said.
The ICPC chairman disclosed that the commission recovered more than N24bn in ghost pension funds in 2024, underscoring the scale of financial leakages associated with fraudulent government records.
“In 2024, we recovered over N24 billion ghost workers pension,” Aliyu said.
The development comes amid continued concerns over the cost of maintaining Nigeria’s public service and the need to ensure that scarce government resources are channelled towards infrastructure, healthcare, education and other essential services.
Aliyu said the commission was increasingly adopting preventive strategies to stop corruption before public funds were lost, rather than concentrating exclusively on prosecuting offenders after alleged fraud had occurred.
He argued that prevention could deliver greater value to the country than filing a large number of criminal cases.
“It is better for us to do that than to engage in filing criminal charges. How many charges can we file?” he asked.
He said the commission had recovered or secured government resources through interventions in public projects and other areas, adding that its priority was to ensure that Nigerians derived value from government expenditure.
Aliyu also called for greater reliance on data, technology and inter-agency collaboration in the fight against corruption.
He said access to reliable information and effective communication were critical to strengthening public confidence in anti-corruption institutions and ensuring accountability in government.
Transparency central to governance — IMPR
Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer of Image Merchants Promotions Limited, Yusha’u Shuaib, said the Economic Confidential Lecture was designed to promote transparency, accountability and professional communication in public administration.
He said the event brought together government officials, professionals, scholars and communication experts committed to improving governance and public communication.
“We are honoured to host yet another gathering of leaders, professionals, scholars, and communication experts committed to strengthening governance, promoting transparency, and advancing excellence in public communication,” Shuaib said..
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