The Federal Government has introduced tighter controls on the deployment and redeployment of civil servants across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
The move is part of ongoing efforts by the administration of President Bola Tinubu to strengthen personnel management, improve institutional accountability and address concerns surrounding questionable government agencies and ghost workers.
The Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) issued the directive in a circular dated August 24, 2026, with reference number HCSF/3065/V.I/275.
The circular directed MDAs to stop internally redeploying officers assigned to them from recognised professional pools without obtaining approval from the appropriate posting authorities.
It explained that officers posted to MDAs through professional pools must remain in the offices, departments, divisions, units or sections specified in their posting instructions unless a change is formally approved.
The directive followed observations by the OHCSF that some MDAs had continued to move officers from recognised professional pools without seeking permission from the authorities responsible for their postings.
The development is also linked to an earlier circular dated January 2, 2025, which prohibited the internal redeployment of pool officers within MDAs without approval.
The OHCSF said permanent secretaries are authorised to deploy or redeploy officers on the local staff establishment of their respective MDAs based on operational needs and service delivery requirements.
However, a different rule applies to officers posted to an MDA by the OHCSF or another recognised professional pool.
Such officers are expected to remain in their designated offices or departments and cannot be transferred internally without prior approval from the relevant posting authority.
The circular stated that where operational circumstances require a change to an officer’s posting, the matter must be referred to the appropriate authority for consideration and approval.
The OHCSF, however, provided an exception for officers on Grade Levels 07 to 14 who are posted to fill vacancies within departments.
Such officers may be deployed to other divisions, units or sections where vacancies exist, provided the new assignment remains within the scope of their approved cadre or professional pool.
Recognised professional pools under the OHCSF include Administrative Officers, Executive Officers (General), Store Officers, Stock Verifier Officers, Confidential Secretaries, System/Programme Analysts, Statistical/Data Processing Officers and Library Officers.
These cadres are managed by the Permanent Secretary of the Career Management Office of the OHCSF.
Other professional pools are managed by designated authorities across government.
For instance, the Federal Ministry of Justice oversees the pool of State Counsels, while the Bureau of Public Procurement manages Procurement Officers.
The Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation is responsible for Information, Press and Public Relations Officers, while the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation manages Account Officers and Executive Officers (Accounts).
The Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation is responsible for the Resident Auditors’ pool.
The directive further recognised other duly established professional pools and their respective managing authorities.
The latest measure reinforces the Federal Government’s position that officers recruited or posted through professional pools should be administered according to clearly defined structures.
It also seeks to prevent arbitrary movement of civil servants between departments and agencies and ensure that deployment decisions remain subject to the appropriate administrative authorities.
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