The Federal Government abolished the three-month preretirement leave for civil servants, according to a circular. The directive is contained in a circular titled “Correct Interpretation of Public Service Rule 120243 on Pre-Retirement Activities,” 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.

According to the document, FG 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 preretirement leave. Walson-Jack argued that such a provision does not exist in the Public Service Rules, adding that several MDAs had wrongly interpreted the retirement notice period as an automatic leave period, leading to the premature withdrawal of officers from active service.

The Public Service Rule, according to her, 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. Nigeria’s federal civil service retirement framework is governed by the Public Service Rules and the Pension Reform Act. Under the rules, civil servants retire upon attaining 60 years of age or after 35 years in service, whichever comes first.

The Head of Service’s directive seeks to standardise the implementation of the Public Service Rules across government institutions and to prevent manpower losses resulting from the early disengagement of experienced officers. “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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