The Federal Government has directed Ministries, Departments and Agencies to immediately discontinue the practice of placing civil servants on what is commonly referred to as a mandatory three-month pre-retirement leave, declaring 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, and addressed to top government officials, including ministers, permanent secretaries, service chiefs, heads of agencies and other senior public sector administrators.
In the circular titled “Correct Interpretation of Public Service Rule 120243 on Pre-Retirement Activities,” which was obtained by our correspondent in Abuja, the Head of Service 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 her, the Public Service Rule only requires officers due for retirement to give three months’ notice before their exit date, attend a one-month pre-retirement workshop or seminar, and use the remaining period to regularise service records and pension documentation.
“The so-called ‘mandatory three-month pre-retirement leave’ has no basis in the Public Service Rules,” Walson-Jack stated.
She explained that Rule 120243 establishes three distinct requirements: a notice obligation, attendance at a pre-retirement seminar during the first month, and completion of retirement-related documentation during the remaining two months.
“A retiring officer must give three months’ notice before their effective date of retirement. This is a notice requirement, not a leave entitlement,” the circular stated.
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