The Federal Government of Nigeria has introduced new rules for enrolling newly recruited employees into its payroll. The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation announced that all new federal workers must be properly captured on the nominal roll of their Ministries, Departments and Agencies before being admitted into the government payroll. This move aims to strengthen accountability and improve the management of public service personnel records. The new directive, issued on November 3, 2026, makes it compulsory for prospective employees to satisfy all prescribed documentation, validation and eligibility conditions before their salary records can be processed and approved.
The revised procedures require prospective employees to submit relevant supporting documents, including recruitment approvals, appointment letters, applicable waivers and other records required to establish their legitimacy and eligibility. The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation will subject all submitted documents and employee information to comprehensive verification before authorising payroll admission. This scrutiny will cover critical employment details, including employees' personal information, salary structures, grade levels, steps, allowances and other financial entitlements.
The verification process will also extend to employees' statutory records and pension-related information, including details of their Pension Fund Administrators, pension identification numbers, National Housing Fund registration and tax records. This additional requirement aims to guarantee the accuracy of statutory deductions, facilitate timely remittances and improve the reliability of information maintained on the Federal Government payroll. The Office stated that the measures are part of efforts to strengthen controls over the Federal Government's personnel expenditure and address possible irregularities in the payroll system.
A major aspect of the new arrangement is the increased responsibility assigned to Ministries, Departments and Agencies as budget owners. They are now expected to exercise closer oversight over their personnel budgets, maintain accurate nominal rolls and ensure that the number of employees on their payrolls corresponds with approved recruitment arrangements and available budgetary provisions. Consequently, any MDA seeking to enrol newly recruited personnel into the Federal Government payroll must submit a formal application to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
The revised procedure provides for another layer of verification by the respective MDAs before newly recruited employees can be cleared for admission. Records of prospective employees will first undergo verification by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation before being forwarded to the relevant MDAs for further examination and confirmation. The documents must then be reviewed and endorsed by key officials, including the Accounting Officer, Director of Human Resources, Director of Finance and Accounts, as well as the designated Payroll Validating Officer.
After obtaining the necessary endorsements, the records will be returned to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation for final processing and consideration. However, completion of the documentation and validation stages will not automatically guarantee admission into the government payroll, as final approval remains subject to the authorisation of the Accountant-General of the Federation. The Office warned that applications containing incomplete documentation, conflicting information or unresolved discrepancies would not be processed until the identified shortcomings had been corrected and all outstanding requirements satisfactorily fulfilled.
The directive takes immediate effect and covers both ongoing applications and all subsequent requests for the enrolment of newly recruited Federal Government employees into the payroll. The Office directed Permanent Secretaries, Heads of Agencies and other relevant officials to ensure full compliance with the revised procedures, emphasising that responsibility for maintaining payroll integrity would not be limited to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation alone. Officers involved in the preparation, verification, processing and approval of applications for new employee admissions will be held responsible for ensuring that established rules and regulations were followed.
Key points
- The Federal Government introduces stricter verification and approval requirements for new employees' enrolment into its payroll.
- The revised procedures require prospective employees to submit relevant supporting documents for comprehensive verification.
- The new arrangement assigns increased responsibility to Ministries, Departments and Agencies as budget owners to exercise closer oversight over their personnel budgets.
