The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission has uncovered 22,074 suspicious personnel on the payroll of the Federal Government, despite the implementation of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System.

According to the ICPC, the government paid these suspicious workers a total of N37,103,337,614.40 last year.

The affected personnel were found in various Ministries, Departments, Agencies, tertiary institutions, and notably, the Nigeria Police Force.

In a comprehensive review of the IPPIS, the ICPC reported that 12,714 personnel were on the payroll but not on the service-wide nominal roll from January to December last year.

The monetary value of these personnel was estimated at N34,808,740,634.37.

Additionally, about 4,190 former police officers were found on the IPPIS payroll.

ICPC investigators revealed that the IPPIS has been tampered with, manipulated, and allegedly padded with ghost workers or suspicious personnel. “We discovered many cases of fraud in the IPPIS payroll,” said an ICPC official.

The report highlighted several corrupt practices within the MDAs and the Nigeria Police Force, including receiving double salaries, using fictitious names to divert funds, operating multiple IPPIS accounts, and including ghost workers on the payroll.

For example, 95 personnel across various MDAs had discrepancies between their names on the payroll and banking applications. “Eight of these 95 individuals had the same family name, and one was linked to two IPPIS accounts,” said the report.

The Ministry of Works had 212 officers on the IPPIS payroll, with a monthly value of N31,986,324.40, who were not on the nominal roll of the Ministry or the service-wide IPPIS nominal roll.

The ICPC stated, “The analysis of the Nominal Roll and Payroll of MDAs showed a large discrepancy of 12,174 personnel between the two records.”

The Nigeria Police Force was particularly problematic. The report noted that out of 350,028 staff listed on the NPF nominal roll, 37,160 were classified as “ex-employees” or “inactive,” yet 4,190 of these ex-employees were still on the payroll, receiving a total of N980,273,690.51 in December 2023.

The ICPC further revealed that 3,228 of these 4,190 had consistent records on the payroll. However, 962 had inconsistent names and bank details. Additionally, 20 staff not on the nominal roll were found on the IPPIS payroll, receiving N5,585,256.13.