‎The Federal Ministry of Health has directed the immediate retirement of directors who have served eight years or more in the directorate cadre, in accordance with the Federal Government’s tenure policy for senior civil servants.
‎
‎The directive was conveyed in a memo dated February 10 and sighted in Abuja on Tuesday. It mandates that all directors who had completed eight years in the rank as of December 31, 2025, be disengaged from service with immediate effect.
‎
‎The circular was signed by Tetshoma Dafeta, Director overseeing the Office of the Permanent Secretary at the ministry. It instructs heads of agencies, parastatals, and federal health institutions under the ministry to ensure that affected officers immediately hand over all official documents and government property in their possession.
‎
‎In addition, the memo directs that the salaries of the affected officers be stopped through the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS). It further mandates the recovery of any emoluments paid to the officers beyond their effective date of retirement.
‎
‎“Accordingly, all Heads of Agencies and Parastatals are by this circular to ensure that the affected staff hand over all official documents/possessions with immediate effect, their salaries are stopped by the IPPIS Unit and mandate the officers to refund to the treasury all emoluments paid after their effective date of disengagement,” the memo stated.
‎
‎The circular also referenced a recent directive issued by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (Ref. No. HSCF/3065/Vol.I/225, dated 10), reiterating strict enforcement of the eight-year tenure policy across Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
‎
‎The action is anchored on Section 020909 of the Revised Public Service Rules (PSR) 2021, which stipulates that directors on Grade Level 17 or its equivalent must compulsorily retire after eight years in that position. Permanent Secretaries, on the other hand, are limited to a four-year tenure, renewable subject to satisfactory performance.
‎
‎The Revised Public Service Rules were approved by the Federal Executive Council in September 2021 and became operational on July 27, 2023. Their implementation was formally announced by the then Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Folasade Yemi-Esan, during the 2023 Civil Service Week activities in Abuja.
‎
‎The health ministry’s memo warned that non-compliance with the directive would attract stiff sanctions. It further directed all institutions under its supervision to submit the nominal roll of directorate officers including those on CONMESS 07, CONHESS 15, and CONRAISS 15 for monitoring and compliance purposes.
‎
‎Officials from both the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and the Federal Ministry of Health are expected to carry out compliance checks in the coming weeks to ensure full implementation of the directive.
‎
‎
‎