The Federal Government has directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to immediately discontinue the practice of placing civil servants on a mandatory three-month pre-retirement leave, declaring that such a provision does not exist in the Public Service Rules.
The directive was contained in a circular issued by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Walson-Jack, and addressed to ministers, permanent secretaries, service chiefs, heads of agencies, and other senior public sector administrators.
In the circular titled “Correct Interpretation of Public Service Rule 120243 on Pre-Retirement Activities,” the Head of Service said several MDAs had misinterpreted the retirement notice period as an automatic leave period, resulting in the premature withdrawal of officers from active service.
According to her, Public Service Rule 120243 only requires officers due for retirement to provide three months’ notice before their retirement date, attend a one-month pre-retirement workshop or seminar, and utilise the remaining period to reconcile service records and complete pension documentation.
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“The so-called mandatory three-month pre-retirement leave has no basis in the Public Service Rules,” Walson-Jack stated.
She explained that the rule establishes three separate obligations: the issuance of a retirement notice, participation in a pre-retirement seminar during the first month, and the completion of retirement-related administrative processes during the remaining two months.
“A retiring officer must give three months’ notice before their effective date of retirement. This is a notice requirement, not a leave entitlement,” the circular stated.
The Head of Service further clarified that officers approaching retirement remain public servants throughout the notice period and are expected to continue discharging their official responsibilities except when attending approved retirement workshops or when otherwise authorised to be absent under existing leave regulations.
“PSR 120243 does not exempt retiring officers from official duties during the notice period, except where they are attending an approved pre-retirement workshop or seminar, or are otherwise authorised to be absent under extant leave rules,” the circular added.
Consequently, all MDAs have been directed to stop compelling retiring officers to vacate their offices before their official retirement dates.
Under the new directive, ministries and agencies are required to ensure that retiring officers continue performing their duties, participate in approved pre-retirement programmes, and complete all pension and service record reconciliations before exiting the service.
The circular also instructed permanent secretaries, directors-general, executive secretaries, chairpersons of statutory agencies, and chief executives of government organisations to bring the directive to the attention of all staff and ensure strict compliance.
The clarification is expected to affect thousands of federal civil servants approaching retirement annually.
For decades, many MDAs treated the three-month notice period as a form of extended leave, often directing officers to stop reporting for duty immediately after submitting retirement notices. In practice, many workers spent the period away from work while awaiting the completion of retirement processes.
The Federal Government said the latest directive is aimed at standardising the implementation of the Public Service Rules across government institutions and preventing the loss of valuable manpower arising from the early disengagement of experienced officers.
The government also believes the measure will improve service delivery by ensuring that retiring officers continue contributing their expertise until their official retirement dates while simultaneously completing documentation required for pension processing.
Nigeria’s federal civil service retirement framework is governed by the Public Service Rules and the Pension Reform Act, under which civil servants retire upon attaining 60 years of age or after 35 years in service, whichever comes first.
Over the years, delays in pension processing and inconsistencies in personnel records have remained major challenges for retiring public servants, prompting efforts to encourage early documentation and verification of retirement records.
The latest circular seeks to end the longstanding ambiguity surrounding the interpretation of the rule by affirming that the three-month period is primarily a notice and administrative preparation window rather than an automatic leave period.