ICPC Flags Official For Padding Govt Payroll With 14 Relatives

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has uncovered cases of alleged ghost workers on government payrolls, including an official who reportedly enrolled 14 members of his family and another who allegedly collected 13 salaries.

ICPC Chairman, Musa Aliyu, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja at the 2026 Economic Confidential Lecture and National Spokespersons Award organised by Image Merchants Promotions Limited.

Aliyu said the commission’s investigation revealed how individuals manipulated government payroll systems to receive multiple salaries.

According to him, one official enrolled 14 family members on the payroll while another allegedly enrolled his wife, daughter, son and other relatives, receiving a total of 13 salaries.

The ICPC chairman said the commission also identified about 900 suspected ghost workers and published their names for verification.

He explained that a year-long investigation revealed that some fictitious employees had names and email addresses appearing on official payrolls, while their salaries were paid into bank accounts belonging to other individuals.

Advertisement

Aliyu warned that ghost workers could create additional financial liabilities through fraudulent pensions, housing benefits, mortgages and health insurance.

He disclosed that the ICPC recovered more than N24 billion in ghost pension funds in 2024, stressing that the commission was strengthening preventive measures to protect public resources.

Aliyu said the ICPC was increasingly focusing on preventing corruption and ensuring that government projects and funds were properly utilised, rather than relying solely on criminal prosecution.

He also called for greater use of data and technology to detect and prevent corruption, noting that effective information sharing was crucial to protecting public funds.