The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has uncovered alleged widespread manipulation of government payroll systems, including cases involving officials who enrolled multiple family members and collected salaries meant for fictitious workers.
The ICPC Chairman, Musa Aliyu, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja while delivering the keynote address at the 2026 Economic Confidential Lecture and National Spokespersons Award organised by Image Merchants Promotions Limited.
Aliyu said investigations by the commission into ghost workers had uncovered how individuals manipulated government payroll systems to divert public funds and receive multiple salaries.
According to him, one official was found to have enrolled 14 members of his family on the government payroll.
“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.
The ICPC chairman disclosed that another individual allegedly enrolled his wife, daughter, son and other relatives on the payroll and received as many as 13 salaries.
“Another person enrolled his wife, his daughter, his son, and others and was receiving 13 salaries,” he said.
Aliyu said the commission had also identified about 900 suspected ghost workers and published their names, challenging those affected to establish that they were genuine government employees.
“We now secured income of about 900 ghost workers, which we published their names in papers,” he said.
He explained that the commission subsequently spent about one year investigating the suspected ghost workers and uncovering how fictitious employees were inserted into official payroll systems.
“We spent one year, one single year, on ghost workers,” Aliyu said.
According to him, some of the fraudulent entries appeared legitimate because the names and email addresses of the alleged ghost workers were listed on government payrolls, while the bank accounts attached to the salaries 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 explained.
Aliyu warned that the financial implications of ghost workers went beyond the salaries paid to fictitious employees, noting that such fraudulent entries could also create liabilities for government through pensions, housing, mortgages 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 N24 billion in suspected ghost pension funds in 2024.
“In 2024, we recovered over N24 billion ghost workers pension,” Aliyu said.
Aliyu said the ICPC had increasingly adopted preventive measures, data analysis and collaboration with other government agencies to identify leakages and recover public resources.
He stressed that the commission was shifting greater attention towards preventing corruption and ensuring that government projects and expenditures delivered value to Nigerians, rather than relying solely on criminal prosecution.
“It is better for us to do that than to engage in filing criminal charges. How many charges can we file?” he said.
The ICPC chairman said the commission had recovered or secured government resources through interventions in public projects and other areas, adding that its ultimate objective was to ensure that Nigerians benefited from funds allocated for public services.
He further called for greater deployment of data and technology in the fight against corruption, stressing that access to reliable information and effective communication were crucial to building public confidence in anti-corruption efforts.
Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer of Image Merchants Promotions Limited, Yusha’u Shuaib, said the lecture was organised to promote stronger governance through transparency, accountability and professional 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.