Across Nigeria’s Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), a quiet but alarming trend is taking root; one that threatens the efficiency and continuity of public service.
Experienced civil servants, many of whom have spent decades mastering bureaucratic processes, are retiring in droves.
But instead of being replaced by vibrant young professionals, their desks are left empty, their duties redistributed among fewer hands.
In many MDAs, staff at entry-level grades 8, 9, and 10 are nearly non-existent; this depletion is not just a staffing issue; it is a looming productivity crisis.
Available data indicates that a huge percentage of senior civil servants in Nigeria are nearing retirement age, and many have already exited the system.
These are officers with institutional memory, deep policy knowledge, and hands-on experience.
Ordinarily, a healthy civil service system replaces them through a structured recruitment pipeline.
Sharing their experiences, both serving and retired civil servants have raised concerns over the declining workforce in Nigeria’s public service.
They warn that the shortage of personnel is crippling productivity and weakening institutional capacity.
Mr Ibrahim Attahiru, a retired director in the office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, said the exit of experienced officers through retirement without a corresponding recruitment of younger staff has left many departments overstretched.
“We now have situations where one officer is saddled with the responsibility of three or four people.
“This not only reduces efficiency but also affects morale,” Attahiru said.
According to him, the absence of middle-level officers at Grade Levels 8, 9, and 10, who serve as a bridge between junior and senior staff, has created a serious vacuum in workflow and mentorship.
“Many MDAs are aging, with a high number of senior staff retiring, and an alarming shortage of officers at entry and mid-level positions, particularly at Grade Levels 8, 9, and 10 is hampering productivity.”
Mrs Christina Esin, another retiree, who described the trend as alarming, said before she retired, some departments in her ministry had no new staff in over five years.
According to her, those left behind are ageing, and the few young ones are often overwhelmed with responsibilities they haven’t been trained for.
She called on the Federal government to accelerate the recruitment process and consider targeted employment for critical MDAs.
“The declining workforce in MDAs, especially the absence of junior-to-mid-level officers (typically on Grade Levels 8, 9, and 10), is already affecting productivity and service delivery,” she said.
Mr Maurice Eze, another senior civil servant, attributed the problem to prolonged embargoes on recruitment and inconsistent workforce planning within the system.
“The civil service is shrinking at a time when the country needs more hands to drive reforms and deliver services; this is a ticking time bomb,” he said.
Mrs Halima Sani, head of administration in a federal parastatal, said the lack of succession planning was partly to blame.
“We are not preparing the next generation of civil servants; people retire, and there is no one ready to take over.
“That is why files stay on desks for weeks,” she said.
She urged the government to decentralise the recruitment process and prioritise capacity building.
Similarly, Mr Chinedu Okorie, a civil servant, said the productivity of any organisation was closely tied to its human capital.
“No matter how brilliant your policies are, if there are no people to implement them, nothing works.
“The current staff shortage in MDAs is already affecting project delivery timelines,” he said.
Okorie suggested that ministries adopt technology and digital workflows to cushion the impact while recruitment efforts were ramped up.
According to him, MDAs are currently grappling with staffing gaps due to mass retirements.
“We must make the civil service attractive to the best talents; technology, innovation, and a clear career progression path are key,’’ he said.
Weighing in on the development, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Didi Walson-Jack, said the Federal Government would soon commence a comprehensive personnel audit and skills gap analysis in the civil service to address the declining workforce across MDAs.
Walson-Jack, who expressed concerns over manpower shortages in the service, said the move followed a directive by President Bola Tinubu.
“If you listen to the President’s speech during the just concluded international conference, he has directed a personnel audit and a skills gap analysis.
“I can let you know that this will commence very soon.
“The whole idea is that with the report from the exercise, we will know exactly how many more personnel are needed and the specific skills they must possess to help us function effectively in the 21st century,” she said.
More so, the Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC), Prof. Tunji Olaopa, confirmed that the audit process was already underway.
“There is another process that is ongoing besides the recent online job advertisement by FCSC to fill some gaps in the sector; the President, himself, announced that an HR audit is being conducted.
“The essence is to carry out a gap analysis to identify staff that have exited and were not replaced, especially in critical areas.
“Over the years, there has been an embargo on recruitment, which has left many gaps in the MDAs,” he said.
He said the data gathered from the audit would inform a phased plan for recruitment and replacements in the service.
Observers said retirements without proper handovers can lead to the loss of valuable knowledge.
They said new entrants, when hired, often lack mentors to guide them through complex systems; and if the trend continues, Nigeria’s public sector may struggle to deliver basic services.
According to stakeholders, there is an urgent need to restaff and revamp the civil service in order to boost productivity, efficiency, and national development. NAN
