ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)-The Federal Government of Nigeria has mandated Federal Civil Servants on study leave to provide evidence of approval obtained from the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation.
This requirement comes as part of a broader initiative to ensure accountability and transparency within the civil service.
Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Folashade Yemi-Esan, outlined the new directive in a memo addressed to all permanent secretaries in Abuja.
The memo also highlighted the implementation of a routine verification mechanism to verify the location of workers in the service.
This move follows the government’s concerns raised in August 2021 regarding civil servants applying for study leave with admission letters from suspicious foreign universities.
Additionally, in 2022, the government ordered such workers to sign bonds to prevent the abuse of study leave.
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Yemi-Esan emphasised the importance of sustaining the gains of the Integrated Personnel Payroll and Information System (IPPIS) and instructed permanent secretaries to conduct physical verification exercises of all staff in their ministries.
Officers on study leave must provide evidence of approval from the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, which should be indicated in the remark column of the verification report.
The report of the exercise, to be signed by the permanent secretary, is expected to be submitted to the Office of the Head of the Civil Service by April 2, 2024.
Yemi-Esan in the memo said, “As part of the efforts to sustain the gains of the Integrated Personnel Payroll and Information System , it has become imperative to emplace a mechanism for regular physical verification of officers in the service.
“To this end, you are directed to carry out physical verification exercise of all staff in your ministry to ascertain the location of each officer.
“Officers who may be on study leave must show evidence of the approval of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation to embark on such leave. This should be indicated in the remark column.
“The report of the exercise, to be signed by the permanent secretary, should be submitted to the Office of the Head of the Civil Service on or before April 2nd 2024.”