Fake agency probe: FG restricts staff movement across MDAs

The Federal Government has tightened its control over the deployment and redeployment of civil servants, directing Ministries, Departments and Agencies to stop moving officers from recognised professional pools without approval from the authorities responsible for their postings.

The directive by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation comes as the administration of President Bola Tinubu intensifies its crackdown on fake government agencies, ghost workers and weaknesses in the Federal Government’s personnel and institutional control systems.

The OHCSF, in a circular dated August 24, 2026, with reference number HCSF/3065/V.I/275, warned that officers posted to MDAs from recognised professional pools must remain in their approved offices, departments, divisions, units or sections unless their deployment is reviewed and approved by the relevant authority.

The circular was addressed to the Chief of Staff to the President, ministers, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, permanent secretaries, service chiefs, the Inspector-General of Police and heads of major Federal Government institutions and agencies.

The OHCSF said it had observed that some MDAs were disregarding existing rules by moving officers posted to them from professional pools without securing approval.

“The Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation has observed that some Ministries, Extra-Ministerial Departments and Agencies have continued to redeploy officers posted to them from the professional pools of the OHCSF and other recognised pool offices without the approval of the relevant posting authorities,” the circular stated.

It said the practice was contrary to the provisions of an earlier Circular Ref. No. HCSF/3065/VI/218 dated January 2, 2025, on the prohibition of internal redeployment of pool officers within MDAs.

The latest directive is coming at a particularly sensitive time for the Federal Civil Service, following investigations into how purported government bodies were able to acquire the appearance of official legitimacy and allegedly interact with government institutions.

President Bola Tinubu on August 28 approved a comprehensive forensic audit of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System, Federal Government agencies, ministries and their internal controls.

According to the Presidency, the exercise followed the August 19 Federal Executive Council resolution on findings by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission concerning fake agencies, ghost workers and other control failures.

The audit will examine how fictitious or ineligible persons were enrolled on government systems, as well as identity, biometric and bank-account controls.

It will also establish a definitive inventory of Federal Government agencies, departments, commissions, councils, parastatals and other bodies and verify their legal basis and how they obtained official recognition, budgetary consideration, office facilities and access to government systems.

The development gives added significance to the OHCSF circular, which seeks to establish a clearer chain of authority over who can deploy, move and supervise professional officers within the Federal Civil Service.

Under the circular, permanent secretaries may deploy or redeploy only officers on the local staff establishment of their respective MDAs to areas where their services are required for effective and efficient service delivery.

However, officers posted to an MDA by the OHCSF or another recognised professional pool are subject to a different rule.

The circular stated, “Officers posted to Ministries, Extra-Ministerial Departments and Agencies by the OHCSF or any other recognised professional pool shall remain in the offices, departments, divisions, units or sections to which they were specifically posted, in accordance with their posting instructions.”

It added, “Such officers shall not be redeployed internally without the prior approval of the relevant posting authority.”

The OHCSF, however, made a qualification for officers on Grade Level 07 to 14 who are posted to fill vacancies in departments.

According to the circular, such officers may be deployed internally to divisions, units and sections where vacancies exist, provided such deployment remains within the scope of their respective pools or cadres.

The directive also provided a procedure where operational circumstances make a change necessary.

The circular stated, “Where operational exigencies necessitate any review of such postings, the matter shall be referred to the appropriate posting authority for review and necessary approval.”

It ended with a firm instruction to all affected authorities: “Please ensure strict compliance.”

The circular also provided a detailed breakdown of the professional pools and the authorities responsible for managing them.

Under the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the recognised cadres include Administrative Officers, Executive Officers (General), Store Officers, Stock Verifier Officers, Confidential Secretaries, System/Programme Analysts, Statistical/Data Processing Officers and Library Officers. These officers are managed by the Permanent Secretary, Career Management Office of the OHCSF.

At the Federal Ministry of Justice, the recognised pool consists of State Counsels, with the Solicitor-General/Permanent Secretary serving as the managing authority.

The Bureau of Public Procurement manages the professional pool of Procurement Officers, under the authority of the Director-General of the Bureau.

The Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation manages the pool of Information, Press and Public Relations Officers, under its Permanent Secretary.

At the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the recognised cadres are Account Officers and Executive Officers (Accounts), with the Accountant-General of the Federation as the managing authority.

The Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation manages the pool of Resident Auditors, under the Auditor-General for the Federation.

The circular also recognised any other duly recognised professional pool office, with the applicable cadre and managing authority.

The detailed listing underscores the fact that professional officers posted to MDAs are subject to defined administrative structures and cannot simply be moved from one establishment to another at the discretion of individual officials.

The latest directive follows a series of revelations surrounding purported government agencies.

In July, President Tinubu ordered the ICPC to investigate the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, after the Presidency declared that the body was fictitious and had never been established by the Federal Government.

The ICPC’s subsequent investigation found that the purported council had no legal basis and that the appointment letter used by its promoter was forged.

The investigation also raised questions about how the organisation was able to operate around government structures and allegedly obtain access to official processes.

The controversy widened on August 21 when the ICPC announced the discovery of another purported federal agency, the National Brands Development and Made in Nigeria Special Project Office.

The commission alleged that the organisation was promoted by George Nwabueze with the suspected involvement of senior public servants in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

Tinubu subsequently ordered the promoter’s arrest and the suspension of three permanent secretaries in the OSGF.

The revelations have raised broader questions about how purported government agencies obtain office accommodation, correspondence privileges, budgetary recognition, access to government systems and, potentially, personnel.

The Federal Government’s comprehensive forensic audit is therefore expected to go beyond identifying individual cases and examine systemic weaknesses in personnel and institutional management.

The Presidency said the exercise would examine the interfaces between IPPIS and other government platforms, including the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System, Remita, the Treasury Single Account and Sub-Treasury Single Account.

It will also determine whether weaknesses resulted from system defects, process failures, inadequate segregation of duties or deliberate circumvention.

The Presidency said the audit is expected to “strengthen the architecture of Government, close systemic loopholes, improve data verification and reconciliation, reinforce accountability, and ensure that only duly constituted entities and eligible personnel have access to Government resources.”

Against this backdrop, the OHCSF’s latest circular provides another layer of administrative control by requiring that the movement of professional pool officers be traceable to an authorised posting authority.

It also places responsibility on permanent secretaries and heads of MDAs to ensure that officers are not arbitrarily moved away from their approved postings.

While the circular does not specifically state that it was issued because of the fake-agency investigations, its emphasis on approved establishments, recognised professional pools, authorised posting authorities and strict compliance comes as the Federal Government moves to close the institutional loopholes exposed by the scandal.

The directive effectively seeks to ensure that civil servants cannot be moved into unauthorised establishments through informal administrative arrangements, while making the relevant professional pool authorities the gatekeepers of such deployments. (Punch)