Fake Agency Probe: FG Restricts Movement of Professional Staff Across MDAs

The Federal Government has tightened control over the deployment and redeployment of civil servants, directing Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to stop moving officers from recognised professional pools without approval from the relevant authorities.

The directive, issued by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF), comes as the administration of President Bola Tinubu intensifies efforts to address concerns surrounding fake government agencies, ghost workers and weaknesses in personnel and institutional control systems.

In a circular dated August 24, 2026, with reference number HCSF/3065/V.I/275, the OHCSF 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 appropriate authority.

The circular was addressed to the Chief of Staff to the President, ministers, 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 obtaining approval from the relevant posting authorities.

It said the practice was contrary to an earlier circular dated January 2, 2025, which prohibited the internal redeployment of pool officers within MDAs.

According to the latest directive, 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 different rules and cannot be internally redeployed without prior approval from the appropriate posting authority.

The circular stated that such officers must remain in the offices, departments, divisions, units or sections to which they were specifically posted in accordance with their posting instructions.

It, however, provided an exception for officers on Grade Levels 07 to 14 who are posted to fill vacancies in departments.

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

The circular further stated that where operational exigencies require a review of an officer’s posting, the matter must be referred to the appropriate posting authority for consideration and necessary approval.

The OHCSF directed all affected authorities to ensure strict compliance with the directive.

The latest development comes amid heightened scrutiny of 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.

The exercise followed a 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 is expected to examine how fictitious or ineligible persons were enrolled on government systems, including 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, official recognition, budgetary consideration, office facilities and access to government systems.

The development has given 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.

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

Under the OHCSF, 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.

The Federal Ministry of Justice manages the pool of State Counsels, while the Bureau of Public Procurement oversees Procurement Officers.

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

The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation manages Account Officers and Executive Officers (Accounts), while the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation oversees Resident Auditors.

The detailed listing underscores the administrative structures governing professional officers posted to MDAs and reinforces the requirement that such personnel cannot simply be moved from one establishment to another at the discretion of individual officials.

The directive follows a series of revelations involving 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 an appointment letter used by its promoter was allegedly forged.

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.

President 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 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.

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

The directive 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 institutional loopholes exposed by the investigations.