The Federal Government has tightened controls over the deployment and redeployment of civil servants, directing Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to stop internally moving officers posted from recognised professional pools without approval from the authorities responsible for their postings.
The directive was contained in a circular issued by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) on August 24, 2026, as the Federal Government steps up efforts to strengthen personnel management and close loopholes in its administrative systems.
The circular, with reference number HCSF/3065/V.I/275 and titled “Re-Prohibition on Internal Redeployment of Pool Officers within Ministries, Extra-Ministerial Departments and Agencies,” warned MDAs against moving officers posted to them from professional pools without obtaining approval from the relevant posting authorities.
The directive was addressed to the Chief of Staff to the President, ministers, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, permanent secretaries, service chiefs, the Inspector-General of Police and heads of major Federal Government institutions and agencies.
The OHCSF said it had observed that some MDAs were violating existing rules by redeploying officers posted to them from the professional pools of the OHCSF and other recognised pool offices without the approval of the appropriate authorities.
The circular stated that the practice was contrary to the provisions of an earlier circular, reference number HCSF/3065/VI/218, dated January 2, 2025, which prohibited the internal redeployment of pool officers within MDAs.
Under the latest directive, officers posted to MDAs by the OHCSF or other recognised professional pools are expected to remain in the offices, departments, divisions, units or sections to which they were specifically posted.
“Such officers shall not be redeployed internally without the prior approval of the relevant posting authority,” the circular stated.
The OHCSF, however, made an exception for officers on Grade Levels 07 to 14 who are posted to fill vacancies within departments.
According to the circular, such officers may be deployed internally to divisions, units and sections where vacancies exist, provided the deployment remains within the scope of their respective pools or cadres.
It further stated that where operational circumstances require a change in an officer’s posting, the matter must be referred to the appropriate posting authority for review and approval.
“Where operational exigencies necessitate any review of such postings, the matter shall be referred to the appropriate posting authority for review and necessary approval,” the circular stated.
The OHCSF directed all affected authorities to ensure strict compliance with the directive.
The circular also outlined recognised professional pools and the authorities responsible for managing them. Among the cadres under the OHCSF are Administrative Officers, Executive Officers (General), Store Officers, Stock Verifier Officers, Confidential Secretaries, System/Programme Analysts, Statistical/Data Processing Officers and Library Officers.
The development comes as the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu intensifies efforts to identify and close weaknesses in Federal Government personnel, payroll and institutional control systems.
On August 28, President Tinubu directed the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, to oversee and coordinate a comprehensive forensic audit of Federal Government systems, including the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), federal agencies and their administrative and internal controls.
The directive followed a Federal Executive Council resolution of August 19, which considered findings by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) concerning alleged fake agencies, ghost workers and other weaknesses in government control systems.
According to the Presidency, the audit will examine reported cases of ghost workers and payroll fraud, reconcile figures identified by the ICPC and determine how fictitious or ineligible persons were enrolled on government payrolls.
It will also scrutinise identity, biometric and bank-account controls, as well as the interfaces between IPPIS and other government financial platforms, including the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), Remita, the Treasury Single Account (TSA) and Sub-Treasury Single Account (Sub-TSA).
The second component of the exercise will cover Federal Government ministries, departments, agencies, commissions, councils, parastatals and other government bodies.
The Presidency said the exercise would establish a definitive inventory of Federal Government entities and verify the legal basis for their existence, while also examining how such bodies obtain official recognition, budgetary consideration, correspondence privileges, office facilities and access to government systems.
The audit will further assess governance, procurement, internal audit and oversight mechanisms in order to identify and address systemic weaknesses that could allow improperly constituted entities or unauthorised individuals to gain access to public resources.
The OHCSF’s redeployment directive is separate from the forensic audit and does not state that it was issued as a direct consequence of the fake-agency investigations. However, both developments form part of wider efforts by the Federal Government to strengthen administrative controls, improve accountability and ensure that personnel and government institutions operate within established rules.
By requiring officers appointed through recognised professional pools to remain in their approved postings unless their movement is authorised, the OHCSF seeks to preserve a clear chain of responsibility over the deployment and supervision of civil servants.
The directive also places greater responsibility on permanent secretaries and heads of MDAs to comply with approved posting arrangements and prevents the arbitrary movement of pool officers without the consent of the authorities responsible for their deployment.
