The Federal Ministry of Health has directed the immediate retirement of directors who have served eight years or more in the directorate cadre, effective immediately.
A memo obtained by our correspondent in Abuja on Tuesday indicated that the directive affects directors across the ministry, federal hospitals, and affiliated agencies.
The move followed a Federal Government instruction enforcing the eight-year tenure limit for directors and permanent secretaries in all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
The memo, signed by Tetshoma Dafeta, Director overseeing the Office of the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Health, stated:
“Further to the Eight-Year Tenure Policy of the Federal Public Service, which mandates the compulsory retirement of directors after eight years in that rank, all affected officers as of December 31, 2025, are to be disengaged from service immediately.”
The circular instructed agency heads to ensure that retiring directors hand over all official documents and properties, suspend their salaries through the IPPIS system, and recover any emoluments paid beyond their effective disengagement date.
It also directed institutions to submit a nominal roll of affected officers to the Ministry via email for monitoring and compliance.
The ministry warned that any failure to implement the directive would attract “stiff sanctions.”
The policy stems from the Revised Public Service Rules (PSR) 2021, which were formally operationalized on July 27, 2023.
Former Head of Civil Service, Folasade Yemi-Esan, had announced the implementation of the rules during a lecture marking the 2023 Civil Service Week at the State House, Abuja.
Under Section 020909 of the revised PSR, directors (GL 17) or their equivalents are required to retire after eight years in their role, while permanent secretaries have a four-year tenure, renewable only based on satisfactory performance.
