RismadarVoice Reporters
September 14, 2026
The Federal Government of Nigeria has set September 18, 2026, as the deadline for ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to submit their 2027 personnel budget proposals as it moves to present the 2027 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly this month.
The directive is contained in the 2027 Personnel Costs Budget Call Circular, dated September 4, 2026, and signed by the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Tanimu Yakubu.
The Budget Office said the 2027–2029 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper was concluded in July to support the planned presentation of the 2027 budget to the National Assembly by September.
MDAs are required to submit both hard and soft copies of their personnel budget proposals and supporting documents by 4pm on Friday, September 18.
The circular also introduced stricter measures to prevent the inclusion of fictitious agencies in the federal budget following the controversy surrounding the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, which received about N1.3 billion in the 2026 budget despite questions over its legal status.
Under the new directive, every MDA must submit the law establishing it alongside its budget proposal. The Budget Office warned that failure to provide the relevant Establishment Act could lead to rejection of the proposal.
The government also tightened controls on personnel expenditure, directing MDAs to ensure that only legitimate Federal Government employees are captured on their payrolls.
MDAs were instructed to validate their payrolls against the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) and the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS).
The circular further prohibited MDAs from budgeting for anticipated promotions, unauthorised recruitment and personnel not captured in the approved government payroll systems.
It also excluded consultants, contract workers, youth corps members, industrial attachments, outsourced workers and non-executive board members from MDA nominal rolls, with specific provisions to be made under appropriate budget heads.
For the health and education sectors, additional measures were introduced to prevent duplicate payroll entries involving consultants, lecturers, interns and other temporary personnel.
The Budget Office said it would deploy a centralised Personnel Cost Monitoring Dashboard linked to IPPIS and GIFMIS to enable real-time monitoring of personnel expenditure.
MDAs are also required to submit their third-quarter personnel budget performance reports by September 30, 2026, while accounting officers and chief executives must certify the accuracy of their submitted proposals.
