The Federal Ministry of Health has begun the immediate disengagement of directors who have completed eight years in the directorate cadre, following a directive from the Federal Government’s eight-year tenure policy. The action affects senior officials across the ministry, federal hospitals, and related agencies, according to an internal memo circulated on Tuesday.
The memo, signed by Tetshoma Dafeta, Director overseeing the Office of the Permanent Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Health, cites the Revised Public Service Rules 2021 (PSR 020909) as the legal basis. It mandates that all directors—classified under CONMESS 07, CONHESS 15, or CONRAISS 15—who have reached the eight-year limit as of December 31, 2025, must be disengaged immediately.
Affected officers are required to hand over all official documents and possessions. Their salaries are to be stopped via the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), and they must refund any emoluments paid after their effective disengagement date. Heads of agencies have been instructed to submit a nominal roll of all directorate officers to designated email addresses. The memo warns that non-compliance will attract “stiff sanctions,” and monitoring will be conducted by officials from the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
This enforcement aligns with a broader circular issued by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service on February 10, 2026, reinforcing the eight-year tenure limit for directors and the four-year term for permanent secretaries, renewable only on satisfactory performance.
The policy stems from the Revised Public Service Rules, approved by the Federal Executive Council in September 2021 and made operational in July 2023 under former Head of Civil Service, Folasade Yemi-Esan. The rules are designed to enhance efficiency, accountability, and infusion of fresh talent within the federal civil service by limiting the continuity of senior officers in fixed positions.
The recent directive marks a systematic rollout of the tenure policy across ministries and agencies. For the health sector, the disengagement process is expected to trigger a reshuffle in senior administrative roles, with significant implications for institutional leadership and operational continuity as new appointments are made.
This move underscores the government’s commitment to institutional reforms aimed at curbing unduly prolonged tenures and promoting a merit-based rotation of top civil servants. The requirement for affected directors to refund salaries post-disengagement also highlights efforts to enforce fiscal discipline and regulatory compliance across the public service.
