ICPC uncovers over 22,000 fresh fraudulent workers on FG payroll

Despite the implementation of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has identified 22,074 suspicious individuals on the Federal Government’s payroll.

These personnel, allegedly listed in various Ministries, Departments, Agencies (MDAs), tertiary institutions, and particularly within the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), have been flagged for irregularities.

The ICPC’s investigation revealed that the government disbursed a staggering N37.1 billion in 2023 to these questionable workers. Specifically, 12,714 personnel were found to be on the payroll without appearing on the service-wide nominal roll, costing the government N34.8 billion. Additionally, the investigation uncovered 4,190 ex-policemen still listed on the IPPIS payroll.

These highlights were contained in the report of a comprehensive review of the IPPIS by the commission as part of the anti-corruption system review by the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Investigators have discovered that the IPPIS have been tampered with, manipulated and allegedly padded with ghost workers or suspicious personnel.

According to ICPC investigators, there were many cases of fraud in the IPPIS in the payroll of the MDAs and the Nigeria Police Force(NPF).

Some of the corrupt practices in 20 MDAs include receiving of double salary, inclusion of names on IPPIS; use of fictitious names to divert public funds; operation of two IPPIS accounts; and ghost workers.

For instance, about 95 personnel across all the MDAs had their names on the payroll and the nominal roll but their names were “not the same with the names that came up when verified via banking application.

Eight of the 95 suspicious beneficiaries have “the same family name and one of them is linked to two IPPIS accounts.”

Twenty four workers from about 20 MDAs were allegedly “receiving double salary from their respective agencies and at times from another.

At the Ministry of Works, 212 officers on the IPPIS payroll with a monthly monetary value of N31,986, 324.40 are not in the nominal roll of the Ministry and the service wide nominal roll of IPPS

The commission said: “The general overview of the Nominal Roll and Payroll of MDAs furnished by IPPIS and subjected to an analysis established a quantum disparity of 12, 174 personnel between the two parameters (nominal roll and payroll) used in the analysis.

“The said 12,174 personnel were visibly on the payroll but not on the service wide nominal roll between January and December 2023,

“The monetary value of the 12, 174 personnel is put at N34,808,740,634.37within the period under review. Included in the service wide disparity between the payroll and the nominal roll were the specific discoveries made from some MDAs used as a pilot scheme.”

But the fraud was allegedly more entrenched in the Nigeria Police Force with thousands of ex-employees on the payroll.

The report added: “The analysis of NPF payroll focused on December 2023 nominal and payroll obtained from IPPIS for the purpose of comparison. The nominal and payroll have populated names of 350,028 and 312,047 respectively.

“It was discovered on the nominal roll that 37, 160 staff were described as “ex-employees. However, on the same nominal roll spreadsheet, 37,129 were described as “inactive” whilst the balance of 31 staff were also categorized as having “Active” status.

“Furthermore, 4,190 staff of NPF, described as “ex-employees” were found on the payroll of IPPIS to have received December 2023 salary amounting to N980,273,690.51.

“It was discovered that 3, 228 of the 4, 190 have their records consistent in all parameters used for validation on the payroll such as the names, IPPIS numbers and account numbers.

“Conversely, the account numbers of the remainder 962 staff were compared with that on the payroll and the findings revealed that the names of staff and bank names were inconsistent.

“It was also discovered that none of the IPPIS numbers of the aforementioned number of staff on the payroll was found on the nominal roll.

“Further analysis revealed that the names, IPPIS numbers and account numbers of 20 staff , who were not on the nominal roll, were found on the payroll given by IPPIS amounting to payment of N5,585, 256.13.

It was also discovered that 40 different staff on the 2023 payroll had different IPPIS numbers that had one account linked to the different names. Of the 40 staff, 21 received double salary.

“Furthermore, an account number linked to two officers revealed that the account is in the name of a company, Don Aks Ikoro Global. Some names do not match the account name on the nominal and payroll.”

The IPPIS was conceptulized in 2006 to “improve the effectiveness and efficiency in the storage of personnel records and administration of monthly payroll…”

According to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation(OAGF), the objectives of IPPIS are to:

• Facilitate automation and storage of personnel records

• Support monitoring of staff emolument payments against budget

• Prevent wastage and leakages by ensuring staff remuneration is based on factually correct information.