The Federal Government has tightened controls over personnel spending in the 2027 budget, directing Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to exclude unauthorised workers from their payrolls and warning that improper personnel payments will attract sanctions.
The directive is contained in the 2027 Personnel Costs Budget Call Circular issued by the Budget Office of the Federation and signed by its Director-General on September 4, 2026.
The circular obtained by THE WHISTLER requires all MDAs to validate their payrolls against records on the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) and the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) before submitting their 2027 personnel cost proposals.
The Budget Office said no provision would be made in the 2027 budget for any serving Federal Government employee who is not captured on IPPIS or enrolled on GIFMIS, except where such employees are specifically exempted by the appropriate authority.
It also warned MDAs against making unauthorised payments from personnel cost allocations.
“Payment of salaries and allowances are for legitimate employees of the FGN only,” the circular stated, adding that any unauthorised payment from personnel costs would attract appropriate sanctions.
The measures, according to the Budget Office, are aimed at strengthening payroll controls, improving the accuracy of personnel expenditure and preventing irregular entries in the federal payroll.
Under the new guidelines, MDAs are required to use only salary structures and allowances approved by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) when validating their payrolls.
They must also verify the grade level and step of every employee on their payroll, including provisions for annual increments.
The Budget Office directed MDAs to report any omission or error discovered during payroll validation, alongside supporting documents such as letters of first appointment, promotion letters or notifications of proper placement.
The government also introduced tighter controls on recruitment, warning MDAs against unauthorised employment and directing them to adhere strictly to approved staffing levels.
Any new employee proposed for inclusion in the 2027 payroll must have the necessary financial clearance, letter of first appointment and, where applicable, a waiver or clearance granted by the relevant authorities.
The Budget Office said MDAs must strictly adhere to the number of staff, cadre, grade level and step approved in their financial clearance.
It warned that it would not entertain claims for salary shortfalls or payroll lockouts arising from unauthorised recruitment.
The circular also prohibited MDAs from making provisions for anticipated promotions.
According to the Budget Office, only promotions already approved and in effect should be reflected in the 2027 personnel costs budget.
It said provisions for promotions that would occur during 2027 would be made under Payment for Promotion and Salary Arrears in the Service-Wide Vote.
The government further warned MDAs against promoting officers on their nominal rolls or effecting salary payments for which provisions were not made after the personnel budget had been finalised.
“All officers are expected to maintain the grade level/step he/she was budgeted for all through the year,” the circular stated.
It directed that any promotion occurring during 2027 should be reflected when preparing the 2028 personnel cost budget.
The government also moved against the inclusion of non-permanent staff in MDAs’ nominal rolls, excluding consultants, contract staff, youth corps members, industrial attachments, outsourced service providers and similar categories because they are not permanent and pensionable Federal Government employees.
Of particular concern to the government is the inclusion of outsourced workers in the payroll of health and education institutions.
The Budget Office declared that the inclusion of outsourced service providers in MDAs’ payrolls would henceforth be regarded as “willful fraudulent action” and reported to the relevant authorities.
The circular further directed Federal Health and Educational Institutions to prevent multiple capturing of the same consultant or lecturer across different institutions.
It said names duplicated across nominal rolls would be removed from affected institutions other than the consultant’s or lecturer’s primary place of employment.
The government also announced a phased elimination of locum staff from the Federal Government’s personnel cost budget, particularly in federal tertiary health institutions.
The Budget Office said the Federal Executive Council’s approval authorising the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to issue recruitment waivers for all Federal Tertiary Health Institutions had removed administrative delays previously associated with waiver issuance.
Consequently, locum staff will no longer be admissible in the Federal Government’s personnel cost budget from 2028.
However, to facilitate the transition, the government approved a ceiling of 100 locum staff in MDAs’ 2027 personnel cost proposals.
The circular said the ceiling could only be exceeded in exceptional circumstances and with the clearance of the Director-General of the Budget Office.
It also directed hospitals to desist from unauthorised emergency recruitment or engagement of locum staff to address staffing shortages or prevent strikes resulting from unpaid salaries and allowances.
The government has also centralised the recruitment and deployment of house officers and nursing interns.
Under the new arrangement, the administration and budgetary provisions for house officers and nursing interns will be domiciled with the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria and the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria respectively.
Hospitals that directly recruit or post house officers and nursing interns without recourse to the relevant professional councils risk sanctions, with Chief Medical Directors and Medical Directors liable for unauthorised recruitment.
To strengthen enforcement, the Budget Office said it would deploy a centralised Personnel Cost Monitoring Dashboard linked to IPPIS and GIFMIS.
