THE GROWING PUBLIC PAYROLL FRAUD

The syndicate that thrives on inflating the number of workers should be exposed

Despite the deployment of electronic verification system, the ubiquitous Nigerian ‘ghost workers’ have continued to divert billions of government money into their private pockets. The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) nationwide investigation has revealed widespread payroll fraud across federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs). The ICPC Chairman, Musa Adamu Aliyu, SAN, who made the disclosure, alleged that some senior public officials exploited the system by enrolling relatives and associates as government workers to receive salaries illegally. One suspect allegedly placed the names of his wife, son and mother-in-law on the government payroll while also collecting salaries for 12 other fictitious workers.

For decades Nigerians have been regaled with tales about how government, at the federal and states, have been able to ‘eliminate’ certain numbers of ‘ghost workers’ from the public payroll. What ordinarily ought to be an aberration in any proper self-accounting and self-auditing bureaucratic system is now a national scourge that appears insurmountable. But it is unacceptable that Nigerians should be periodically regaled with tales of discovery of ‘ghost workers’ while no visible attempts are made to get to the bottom of such fraud and bring the wrath of the law to bear on its perpetrators.

In the investigation launched since 2024, and still ongoing, the ICPC has named the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) as the worst culprit, recording the highest number of suspected fake workers. “For this operation,” said the anti-corruption agency, “we identified 570 people whom we suspect are among the fake workers collecting salaries without working.”  They are by no means the only ones.  Many others also inserted fictitious names into government payrolls to receive salaries fraudulently. But it is beyond scandalous that the NPF, an institution whose primary responsibility is crime detection, is enmeshed in this sort of scandal. That tells a compelling story about a lack of transparency and accountability that now defines public life in Nigeria.

The introduction of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) in the nation’s Public Finance Management (PFM) system was expected to insulate the federal government payroll from the ghost workers syndrome. Yet this has remained a recurring decimal under successive administrations. In the latest ICPC report, the National Water Resources Authority, Federal Ministry of Works, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defence, Federal Ministry of Health, Federal Ministry of Interior, Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, are among many MDAs that are implicated. Even the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) is said to be deeply involved in this fraud.

Last year, amid reports that many of the civil servants who relocated abroad were still drawing salaries from the government the OAGF reportedly started a personnel audit aimed at identifying and removing ‘ghost workers’ from the civil service payroll. That evidently has not achieved any tangible result. As it is, there are perpetual loopholes to be exploited. Indeed, more recently, the criminal act has escalated beyond individual ‘ghost employees’ to the creation and funding of entirely fake, phantom government agencies captured in the national budget.

Meanwhile, the regular announcements about uncovering some ‘ghost workers’ have become rather boring. What Nigerians would like to know are the steps being taken to deal with confirmed cases and prevent new ones. We ought to know, for instance, how and when some of these “ghost” names got on the payroll and for how long they have been there. We must also interrogate why it is so easy for the perpetrators of the crime to do what they do effortlessly and yet are not caught. This mindless plunder of scarce state resources has lasted long enough. It must be stopped forthwith.

Since this blatant fraud emanates from the manipulation of payroll technology, the solution in plugging such pilfering will require blocking prospective technological loopholes. This is therefore time to interrogate and unearth the insider syndicates within MDAs who are effortlessly sabotaging the system. Unless there is a structured and serious institutional response to the ever-recurring problem of ‘ghost workers’ in most government establishments, the syndicate that thrives on inflating the actual number of workers and fleecing the nation will keep smiling to the banks.