Civil service rules on promotion in Nigeria and challenges it faces

Career growth is important to every employee. People want to move to higher positions where they can earn better salaries and improve their living standards. Discover civil service rules on promotion in Nigeria and the challenges it faces.

Getting a promotion gives an employee a sense of pride and accomplishment. It also shows the employer recognizes your effort and performance. Someone will even work harder, hoping for future promotions as well. These are some of the reasons civil workers need promotions.

Civil service rules on promotion in Nigeria

Nigeria's 2013 civil service rules on promotion created a new Promotion policy that most public workers resisted. Changes in civil service rules create more confusion as years go by. For example, the original Promotion policy required a civil servant to be allocated a new position after serving one post for eight years, but President Muhammadu Buhari's administration overlooked this policy.

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Who provides a promotion policy in Nigeria?

The Federal Civil Service Commission carries out civil service rules on promotion in Nigeria. To be more exact, the department of promotion. The head of the Federal Civil Service Commission is Dr Folashade Yemi-Esan (since 28 February 2020). President Muhammadu Buhari swore her into office on 4 March 2020.

Criteria for the promotion of civil servants

The Department of Establishment (under the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation) sends out existing vacancy circulars to each ministry, parastatal, and department under the federal government's management.

Each ministry undertakes the appointment, promotion, and transfer of its staff as per the civil service rules on promotion in Nigeria. The Federal Civil Service Commission provides these guidelines and appointments to public offices are made under its authority. There are two types of appointments:

• Appointment via a letter written under the direction of the Federal Civil Service Commission.
• Appointment via a formal agreement between the officer and the Federal Government or its appointed agents - Permanent Secretaries/Heads of Extra-Ministerial Offices are authorized to appoint eligible candidates to posts in respect of which the powers of appointment have been delegated to them.

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Nigeria's public service commission regulations

The Federal Civil Service Commission uses some criteria to select candidates for promotion. Some of the main things they consider while promoting civil servants are:

1. You must be of legal age and above.
2. You must have the required minimum academic qualifications.
3. You must have completed the required minimum years of public service to get a promotion.
4. You must have satisfactory work performance records.
5. A government medical officer should certify that you a healthy and medically suitable for government service.
6. You must disclose any criminal record you had in the past.
7. You must possess a testimonial of good conduct from the previous job.
8. You must pass regular job promotion interviews and examinations.
9. You should disclose if you previously quit a job and why you did that.
10. You should disclose if you are in any other type of employment and your obligation to remain in it.

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Nigeria's public service commission regulations require each ministry or department to have a Personnel Management Board supported by different Committees. While the Civil Service Commission appoints senior personnel on salary grade levels 08-10 to reflect the federal character, the ministries appoint junior officers on grade levels 01-07 under the supervision of the Civil Service Commission.

The Nigerian civil service uses the interview method for selection. All eligible candidates for appointment or promotion are interviewed by the appropriate personnel management board or committee.

Successful candidates are notified through letters of appointment duly signed by an officer designated to do so by the ministry concerned or civil service commission.

Types of promotion in civil service in Nigeria

There are four major types of promotion in civil service in Nigeria:

• Seniority promotions: promotion based on one's fitness to discharge duties of the post. If the senior-most official is unsuitable for promotion, the authority can pick someone from the lower rank.
• Merit-seniority promotions: promotion based on merits and seniority.
• Promotion by merit or selection: promotion is based upon merit only (seniority is not given precedence over performance).
• Time-bound promotion: one gets promoted after doing their job for a certain time (mostly years).

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Challenges in the Nigeria civil service rules on promotion

Some of the challenges in Nigeria's civil service are:

• Lack of higher positions for civil servants: Many public workers have all the required qualifications, but there are inadequate vacancies for promotions.
• Discriminations: Unlawful discrimination against gender, tribe, and religion is high during civil workers' recruitment and promotion processes.
• Corruption: Some authorities responsible for recruiting and promoting public servants demand bribes from candidates.
• Political influence: Political officeholders and top government officials interfere with the recruitment and promotion of public service workers. They are the perpetrators of discrimination, including tribalism and nepotism.

What is a notional promotion in civil service?

Notional promotion happens when a civil servant is moved to a higher rank but cannot claim the previous position's monetary benefits, including pension and salary arrears.

How is seniority determined in Nigeria's civil service?

Seniority is determined by the entry date and time one assumed duties of their office or as reflected in the appropriate register.

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The government usually implements mechanisms to improve the civil service rules on promotion in Nigeria and mitigate the challenges it faces. People hope leaders will make better public service policies, so that worthy candidates get the positions they deserve.

READ ALSO: How to write an application letter for a job? (2022 guide)

Legit.ng also focused on how to write an application letter for a job. Some jobs require you to send an application letter.

Your application letter can convince the hiring managers to call you for an interview. Therefore, improve your writing skills by checking the guide provided in the article.

Source: Legit.ng