Nigeria’s federal government has ordered its ministries and agencies to stop sending civil servants home early, after a formal review found that a supposed entitlement to three months of pre-retirement leave had no basis whatsoever in the country’s public service rules.
The directive, issued by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, exposed a practice that had quietly taken root across government institutions for decades: once an officer submitted a retirement notice, many agencies simply stopped expecting them to show up. In reality, Walson-Jack clarified, the three-month period was never intended as leave at all.
“The so-called ‘mandatory three-month pre-retirement leave’ has no basis in the Public Service Rules,” her circular stated bluntly.
The relevant rule, PSR 120243, in fact sets out three distinct obligations for officers approaching retirement: a requirement to give three months’ notice before their exit date, attendance at a pre-retirement workshop during the first month, and completion of pension and service record documentation during the remaining two months. Nowhere, the circular noted, does it exempt officers from turning up to work.
“A retiring officer must give three months’ notice before their effective date of retirement. This is a notice requirement, not a leave entitlement,” the directive said.
The circular, addressed to ministers, permanent secretaries, service chiefs and heads of agencies, instructs all ministries, departments and agencies to immediately end the practice of compelling retiring officers to vacate their posts ahead of their official retirement dates. Officials are expected to continue discharging their responsibilities right up until their final day in service, attending approved pre-retirement programmes and completing administrative paperwork in parallel.
The scale of the misinterpretation is considerable. Nigeria’s federal civil service retires officers either at 60 years of age or after 35 years in service — whichever comes first — meaning thousands of officials pass through the retirement process each year. For many of them, the unofficial early departure had simply become accepted custom, reinforced by the silence of institutions that neither questioned it nor corrected it.
The government argues the change will improve service delivery by retaining experienced officers at their posts for longer, while also accelerating pension processing — a system long plagued by delays and record inconsistencies that have left many retirees waiting far too long for payments they are owed.
Pre-retirement seminars were originally introduced to ease the transition out of service and guide officers through the pension documentation process. But differing interpretations of the rules across agencies gradually transformed what was an administrative preparation window into something resembling an extended paid holiday. Walson-Jack’s circular aims to close that gap permanently.
Permanent secretaries, directors-general and chief executives of government organisations have been instructed to circulate the directive to all staff and ensure compliance — a sign that the government is aware the old habits will not dissolve without explicit pressure from the top.
