The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission has 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.

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 the commission’s investigation into ghost workers had exposed how individuals manipulated government payroll systems to receive multiple salaries.

He said, “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.”

The ICPC chairman added that another individual allegedly enrolled his wife, daughter, son and other family members and received 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 them to prove that they were genuine 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 a year investigating the suspected ghost workers, uncovering the methods used to insert fictitious names into government payrolls.

“We spent one year, one single year, on ghost workers,” Aliyu said.

According to him, in some cases, the names of the alleged ghost workers appeared on official payrolls with email addresses, while the bank account details were linked 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 consequences of ghost workers extended beyond salaries, saying fraudulent entries could also result in ghost pensions, housing, health insurance and other benefits.

“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.

He said the commission’s intervention was aimed at protecting public resources and strengthening the economy, noting that fraudulent payroll practices imposed additional costs on the country.

The ICPC chairman also disclosed that the commission recovered more than N24bn in ghost pension funds in 2024.

“In 2024, we recovered over N24 billion ghost workers pension,” Aliyu said.

He said the commission had adopted cross-agency collaboration and other preventive measures to tackle corruption and recover government resources.

Aliyu stressed that the commission was increasingly focusing on preventing corruption and ensuring that government projects were properly executed rather than relying solely on criminal prosecution.

He said, “It is better for us to do that than to engage in filing criminal charges. How many charges can we file?”

The ICPC chairman said the commission had recovered or secured government resources through interventions in projects and other areas, stressing that the ultimate objective was to ensure that Nigerians benefited from public expenditure.

He also called for greater use of data and technology in combating corruption, saying effective communication and access to reliable information were essential to building public confidence in anti-corruption efforts.

Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer of IMPR, 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.

…Set to launch hospital, targets large share of medical tourism

_…Facility attracts outpouring of interest from diaspora medics

Ahead of the imminent inauguration of the Enugu International Hospital, Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State has undertaken a tour of the facility, declaring that Enugu State was ready to welcome the world.

Mbah said the hospital was now fully installed with state-of-the-art medical equipment and would help to reverse medical tourism out of the country, ensuring that the state secures a large chunk of the multibillion-dollar market.

Fielding questions from newsmen on Thursday evening after a pre-launch walkthrough of the facility situated at Rangers Avenue, Independence Layout, Enugu, Mbah said the hospital was a product of a deliberate health agenda.

“If you recall our manifesto during our campaign for office, we made it clear that we were committed to making Enugu a medical tourism hub on the continent.

“We knew the size of that market and wanted to have a good share of that market. But we knew also that it was never going to be wished into existence.

“We knew that we needed to do things differently and build a world-class facility and, most importantly, attract top-notch professionals to provide services. We cannot wait to welcome the world to Enugu,” he stated.

Mbah regretted that there was just about one functional location for PET Scan services in the country, but noted that the hospital would now bridge the wide gap in advanced medical services in the country.

“We have quite a lot of Ndi Enugu, and Nigerians who travel to India, Turkey, the United States, and the United Kingdom to seek medical attention. So, what we are asking for is just a fraction of what they would have spent overseas for the same quality services,” he said.

“We felt that if we want to compete globally, then we must also have the ability to provide advanced oncology services. Therefore, we are not only able to give you an advanced diagnosis, but we’re also able to treat. So, both diagnostically and therapeutically, the place to come to is right here in Enugu.

“We have also received an outpouring of interest from our healthcare professionals in the diaspora. Some of them were doing well here at some point and now went overseas to practice. They are now happy to come back home and give back to the society that nurtured them. We are excited about that,” he stated.

He added that the Enugu International Hospital would equally engage in telemedicine as one of its areas of strength.

“Of course, you may be in love with the building and the equipment, but you should also engage professionals from across the globe. You see this in our commitment to telemedicine, digital and electronic medical practices and equipment,” he explained.

He emphasised that the hospital was part of his administration’s agenda for the health sector as a major part of his government’s vision to grow the state’s economy from $4.4bn to $30bn, and ensure high quality and increased life expectancy for the people.

“If you look at our intervention in the healthcare sector, from the primary healthcare to the secondary, tertiary, and now the quaternary, it is intentional.

“We are investing heavily in security and healthcare because we know that these are what investors would ask you: ‘Am I safe? If I fall sick, would I have a place where I can get quality medical attention?’” he said, adding that the hospital would also create jobs.

Speaking, the Chief Executive Officer, Prof. Sam Agwu, listed six specialty areas the hospital would provide services in once commissioned.

“We have earmarked six specialty centres here. In the Cancer Centre, we are going to provide medical, surgical, and nuclear medicine therapeutics and diagnostics.

“Then we are going to have the Heart and Vascular Centre of Excellence to deal with all heart problems and open-heart surgery, as you may know; cardiology consultation and diagnostics, electrophysiology and arrhythmia care, coronary care and acute cardiac pathways, interventional cardiology and cath-lab procedures, heart-failure and cardiac rehabilitation clinics, and of course vascular assessment and collaborative surgical care.

“We are going to have the Neurosciences Centre where we will deal with stroke, epilepsy, brain and spine tumours, neurosurgical procedures, among others.

“We are going to have a Renal and Transplant Centre of Excellence covering full kidney, chronic kidney disease clinics, early nephrology review, dialysis support and transplant assessment.

“Then, apart from all the centres of excellence, we are going to have wellness and regenerative medicine, while the usual departments that you know of – mother and child, general surgery, ENT, dental, ophthalmology, among others – will all be here.

Former Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association, Enugu State, Dr. Sunday Nwafor, hailed the milestone, saying the hospital would promote brain gain by reversing the mass exodus of medical doctors from the country.

“Going forward, our doctors have a place of international standard where they can practice with state-of-the-art equipment and also earn well,” he said.

Mbah was accompanied by the Commissioner for Health, Prof. George Ugwu, among others.

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