• Uncovers source of 14 family members on govt payroll
• Blames weak systems for Adeyemi’s ‘fake agency

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) said it has recovered over N24 billion linked to ghost workers’ pensions and secured forfeiture orders involving over 900 suspected ghost workers.

ICPC Chairman, Dr Musa Adamu Aliyu (SAN), disclosed this yesterday in Abuja while delivering the keynote address at the 4th Economic Confidential Lecture and 6th National Spokespersons Award 2026, organised by Image Merchants Promotions Limited (IMPR), publishers of PRNigeria, Economic Confidential and Spokespersons Digest.

Aliyu also said weak institutional controls enabled the embattled fake Director-General of the disowned Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, Adeniyi Adeyemi, to establish the agency and manipulate government processes.

Speaking on the theme, “Anti-corruption Reforms, Economic Stability and Effective Communication,” Aliyu said the commission’s anti-corruption efforts had extended beyond prosecuting individual cases to identifying and blocking systemic leakages that could weaken the economy.

According to him, one of the areas targeted by the commission was the public payroll and pension system, where investigations uncovered widespread abuse involving ghost workers and pension beneficiaries.

The ICPC chairman disclosed that in 2024, the commission recovered over N24 billion from ghost workers’ pensions after uncovering irregularities in the system, adding that further investigations also uncovered cases of ghost workers allegedly inserted into government payrolls, including an official who enrolled 14 members of his family and another who allegedly collected 13 salaries.

Aliyu said the commission’s investigation into ghost workers had exposed how individuals manipulated government payroll systems to receive multiple salaries and had identified about 900 suspected ghost workers, whose names it published, challenging them to prove they were genuine employees.

Aliyu said the scale of the fraud demonstrated how corruption in the public service could have consequences far beyond the immediate loss of government funds.

He explained that ghost workers and fraudulent pension claims consume resources that could otherwise be used to employ genuine workers, pay legitimate retirees and provide essential public services.

The ICPC chairman also warned that corruption-induced leakages could contribute to unemployment, inequality and insecurity by depriving government of resources needed for development.

He added that the Adeyemi case demonstrated how loopholes in Nigeria’s public sector could be exploited by individuals to perpetrate corruption and gain access to government processes, stressing the need to strengthen institutional controls and ensure that government officials exercise due diligence when presented with official-looking documents.

“Recently, we have seen what happened on the issue of the vacancy. The system is very big. That was why an individual, allegedly, was able to build the system and get documents to pass through various agencies, and for the agencies to act without due diligence,” Aliyu said.

According to him, some documents presented to government officials should immediately raise suspicion and prompt further checks before any action is taken.

Aliyu warned that the ability of individuals to exploit institutional weaknesses posed a serious threat to the country, particularly its efforts to attract foreign direct investment, just as strengthening government systems would help prevent the manipulation of public processes and the diversion of public resources.