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, stating 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, Didi Walson-Jack, who said several MDAs had wrongly interpreted the retirement notice period as an automatic leave period, leading to the premature withdrawal of officers from active service.
According to the circular, Public Service Rule 120243 only requires officers due for retirement to give three months’ notice before retirement, attend a one-month pre-retirement seminar, and use the remaining period to regularise service records and pension documentation. The rule does not grant an automatic three-month leave entitlement.
Walson-Jack explained that retiring officers remain public servants throughout the notice period and are expected to continue performing their official duties, except when attending approved pre-retirement workshops or when otherwise authorised to be absent under existing leave regulations.
Consequently, all MDAs have been directed to stop compelling officers nearing retirement to vacate their posts before their official retirement dates. The government said the move would help standardise the implementation of Public Service Rules and prevent the loss of experienced manpower through early disengagement.
The clarification is expected to affect thousands of federal civil servants approaching retirement each year, many of whom previously spent the three-month notice period away from work due to longstanding administrative practices.
