The Federal Government has tightened payroll verification for newly recruited workers. New employees must now appear on their agencies’ nominal rolls and complete validation before admission to the IPPIS payroll. The directive follows a rise in personnel costs to ₦1.96 trillion in the first quarter of 2026. That is a 7.35 per cent increase.
Nigeria’s recurrent expenditure has crowded out capital spending for years. The 2023 subsidy removal was meant to free fiscal space. Instead, debt service and salaries absorbed the gains. In 2024, personnel costs rose after the ₦70,000 minimum wage. In 2025, the government promised to reduce the wage bill through verification. The IPPIS system was introduced in 2007 to eliminate ghost workers. It has been dogged by fraud and exemptions. The current directive is another attempt to close the gaps.
Personnel spending of ₦1.96 trillion exceeded capital expenditure of ₦1.69 trillion by about ₦267 billion. No funds were released for ministries, departments and agencies’ 2026 capital projects during the quarter. Revenue stood at ₦5.08 trillion against a ₦9.22 trillion target. Debt service reached ₦4.63 trillion. Personnel and debt-service costs combined exceeded revenue by about ₦1.51 trillion.
The figures are stark. The government is borrowing to pay salaries and interest. Capital projects are unfunded. The 2026 budget assumed revenue that has not materialised. Oil revenue is below projection. Non-oil revenue is growing but not fast enough. The fiscal deficit is widening.
The payroll verification may save money over time. It will not close the gap this year. The wage bill is structural. Agencies hire without adequate oversight. Nominal rolls are inflated. The directive requires validation before payment. It does not reduce the number of workers already employed.
Winners: The Ministry of Finance, which shows control. The Accountant-General, which gains data. Genuine new hires, who gain verified payroll access. Losers: Ghost workers, who face removal. Agencies that hired without approval. Capital projects, which remain unfunded. Contractors, who wait for payments. Taxpayers, who fund salaries and interest. The economy, which loses infrastructure investment.
Bottom Line: Salaries and interest consumed more than revenue. Capital spending is at zero. The government is paying its bills and nothing else. Verification helps at the margins. The structural problem remains. Revenue must rise. Debt service must fall. Until then, the budget will keep paying salaries first and building nothing.