Public Service Rules: Nigeria To Retire Over 500 Directors

Head of Civil Service, Dr. Folashade Yemi-Esan

As many as 500 Directors in Nigeria’s civil service may be asked to proceed on compulsory retirement after the Head of the Civil Service, Dr. Folashade Yemi-Esan, issued a circular to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to ensure compliance with the revised Public Service Rules (PSR) that was unveiled last week.

The circular dated July 27, 2023, from the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, according to aris.tv, had advised Permanent Secretaries, the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Auditor-General for the Federation, and Heads of Extra-Ministerial Department to ensure compliance.

Yemi-Esan had declared that the implementation of the PSR had commenced after it was unveiled at the public service lecture held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

One key provision of the PSR is a tenure system for Permanent Secretaries who shall hold office for a term of four years and another renewable term based only on satisfactory performance.

The new rule also stated that a Director (GL 17) or its equivalent as may be prescribed by other MDAs shall compulsorily retire upon the attainment of eight years in that position.

It was, however, learnt that over 500 Directors on GL 17 who have spent more than eight years in their positions would be affected in the Federal Civil Service.

The new policy is to enable more Deputy Directors in the service on GL16 to rise to the next level.