President Muhammadu Buhari has placed an embargo on recruitment by agencies, warning that there will be severe sanctions for any agency that flout the order.
In his presentation of the 2020 budget to the National Assembly, President Buhari stressed that his government would continue to find ways to cut cost.
He explained that if any agency must recruit, it must get the necessary approval before doing so.
“All agencies must obtain the necessary approvals before embarking on any fresh recruitment and any contraventions of these directives shall attract severe sanctions,” he said in his speech on Tuesday.
Explaining the recurrent expenditure of the government, he said, “the non-debt recurrent expenditure includes N3.6 trillion for personnel and pension costs, an increase of N620.28 billion over 2019.
“This increase reflects the new minimum wage as well as our proposals to improve remuneration and welfare of our Police and Armed Forces.
“You will all agree that good governance, inclusive growth and collective prosperity can only be sustained in an environment of peace and security.”
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“Our fiscal reforms shall introduce new performance management frameworks to regulate the cost to revenue ratios for Government Owned Enterprises, which shall come under significant scrutiny. We will reward exceptional revenue and cost management performance, while severe consequences will attend failures to achieve agreed revenue targets.
“We shall also sustain our efforts in managing personnel costs. Accordingly, I have directed the stoppage of the salary of any Federal Government staff that is not captured on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) platform by the end of October 2019.
“All agencies must obtain the necessary approvals before embarking on any fresh recruitment and any contraventions of these directives shall attract severe sanctions.
“Overhead costs are projected at N426.6 billion in 2020. Additional provisions were made only for the newly created Ministries. I am confident that the benefits of these new Ministries as it relates to efficient and effective service delivery to our citizens significantly outweighs their budgeted costs.
“That said, the respective Heads of MDAs must ensure strict adherence to government regulations regarding expenditure control measures. The proliferation of Zonal, State and Liaison Offices by Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (‘MDAs’), with attendant avoidable increase in public expenditure, will no longer be tolerated.”
