Head of Civil Service says the practice has no basis in existing Public Service Rules.
The Federal Government has directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies to immediately discontinue the practice of placing civil servants on a mandatory three-month pre-retirement leave.
The directive was issued through a circular signed by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack.
According to the circular, the Federal Government stated that the practice does not exist in the Public Service Rules and has resulted from incorrect interpretations of retirement notice provisions.
The directive was addressed to senior government officials, including ministers, permanent secretaries, service chiefs and heads of government agencies.
The government explained that some MDAs had wrongly treated retirement notice periods as automatic leave periods, leading to the premature withdrawal of officers from active service.
The new directive takes immediate effect across the federal public service.