The Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Health Nigeria, has directed the immediate disengagement of directors who have spent eight years or more in the directorate cadre.
This was conveyed in a memo issued on Tuesday and signed by Tetshoma Dafeta, who oversees the Office of the Permanent Secretary in the ministry.
Those affected include directors serving within the ministry, federal hospitals, and affiliated agencies.
The directive follows an earlier mandate requiring all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to implement the eight-year tenure policy for directors and permanent secretaries, in line with a fresh deadline issued by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
According to the memo, the enforcement of the policy is in accordance with the Revised Public Service Rules 2021.
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“Further to the Eight (8)-Year Tenure Policy of the Federal Public Service, which mandates the compulsory retirement of Directors after eight years in that rank, as provided in the Revised Public Service Rules 2021 (PSR 020909), I am directed to remind you to take necessary action to ensure that all affected officers who have spent eight years as Directors, effective 31st December, 2025, are disengaged from Service immediately,” the memo read.
The circular also directed all heads of agencies and parastatals to ensure that affected officers hand over all official documents and government property without delay.
It further instructed that salaries of affected officers be stopped through the IPPIS Unit, while any emoluments received beyond their disengagement date must be refunded to the government treasury.
The memo referenced an earlier circular issued by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, dated February 10, 2026, which reiterated the enforcement of the policy.
Additionally, all agencies were directed to forward the nominal roll of directorate officers across specified salary structures to designated official email addresses for monitoring purposes.
The ministry warned that officials from both the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and the ministry would conduct compliance monitoring, reiterating that failure to adhere to the directive would attract stiff sanctions.