Federal employees on study leave have been ordered by the Federal Government to provide documentation of their approval from the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation.
This is in response to the observation made by Folashade Yemi-Esan, the Federation’s Head of Civil Service, that the Federal Government has now established a system for routinely verifying employees in order to determine their “actual” location.
This was disclosed in a memo sent on Friday to our correspondent in Abuja, which was sent to all permanent secretaries.
In August 2021, the Federal Government became concerned about government employees requesting study leave using admission letters from questionable international universities.
Similarly, in an effort to stop governmental personnel from “abusing” study leave, the government mandated in 2022 that these employees sign bonds.
Yemi-Esan stated in the memo that “it has become of vital importance to erect a mechanism for structured physical verification of officers in the service as part of the efforts to sustain the gains of the Integrated Personnel Payroll and Information System,” while also addressing the recent development and the necessity for physical verification.
“In order to achieve this, you are instructed to conduct a physical verification process involving every employee in your ministry in order to locate every officer.
“Officers who wish to take a study leave must provide documentation proving their approval from the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.” This ought to be included in the remarks section.
“The exercise report, to be signed by the permanent secretary, should be turned in to the Office of the Head of the Civil Service by April 2, 2024, at the latest.”
