ABUJA, Nigeria — The Federal Government has directed all ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to immediately halt the practice of sending civil servants on a mandatory three-month pre-retirement leave, declaring that no such entitlement exists under the current Public Service Rules.
The directive was issued in a circular from the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, and distributed to ministers, permanent secretaries, service chiefs, and heads of statutory agencies.
According to the circular, titled “Correct Interpretation of Public Service Rule 120243 on Pre-Retirement Activities,” many government institutions have systematically misinterpreted the standard retirement notice period as an automatic holiday, leading to the premature and unlawful withdrawal of experienced officers from active service.
“The so-called ‘mandatory three-month pre-retirement leave’ has no basis in the Public Service Rules,” Mrs Walson-Jack stated.
Notice Period is Not a Holiday
For decades, a widespread culture evolved across Nigeria’s federal civil service where staff approaching retirement were told to stop reporting for duty once they submitted their formal exit notices. Many workers spent these final months away from their offices while awaiting their final exit dates.
The Head of Service clarified that Rule 120243 actually establishes three distinct administrative requirements rather than a period of automatic absence:
- The Three-Month Notice: A retiring officer must give a formal three-month notice before their effective exit date. The circular stressed this is a strict statutory obligation, not a leave entitlement.
- The One-Month Seminar: Retiring staff are required to attend a one-month pre-retirement workshop or seminar during the first month of their notice period to prepare for post-service life.
- Record Regularisation: The remaining two months must be used by the employee to reconcile service records, regularise personnel files, and complete necessary pension documentation.
The circular emphasized that unless an employee is physically attending an approved retirement workshop or has been granted standard annual leave under separate existing regulations, they remain public servants and are legally expected to continue performing their official duties.
Stemming the Loss of Experienced Manpower
The immediate ban on pre-retirement leave is expected to affect thousands of federal civil servants who approach the retirement threshold each year. Under current Nigerian law, federal civil servants must retire upon reaching 60 years of age or completing 35 years of service, whichever comes first.
By enforcing the rule strictly, the government aims to standardise administrative practices across all tiers of the civil service and halt the sudden drain of experienced manpower caused by early departures.
A secondary benefit, according to the circular, is the improvement of public service delivery. Keeping retiring officers at their desks ensures that their technical expertise continues to benefit their departments until their final day on the payroll, while simultaneously allowing them to complete the complex paperwork required for pension processing.
A Push to End Pension Delays
Delays in pension disbursements and persistent inconsistencies in personnel records have long plagued Nigeria’s retired public servants. While pre-retirement seminars were originally introduced to guide staff through the paperwork and prevent these delays, the conflicting interpretations of the notice period often disrupted the verification process.
Permanent secretaries, directors-general, and chief executives have been ordered to immediately brief all staff on the directive and ensure total compliance.
To support the transition, the government noted that retiring workers will be given full access to administrative tools to ensure all service record reconciliations are completed seamlessly before they officially step down.
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