FG Directs Federal Universities to Justify Recruitment Requests

The Federal Government has directed vice-chancellors of federal universities to provide evidence of labour market demand and demonstrate the financial implications of proposed staff recruitment, as part of efforts to strengthen workforce planning and control personnel costs.

The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, issued the directive in a letter dated October 19, 2026, titled _Directive on Vetting of Manpower Requests from Tertiary Institutions, addressed to vice-chancellors of all federal universities

According to the minister, the government is concerned that some recruitment requests from tertiary institutions do not adequately account for the additional personnel costs that would be borne by the Federal Government.

Alausa also expressed concern over proposals to recruit staff for academic programmes that, in the government’s assessment, have limited demand in the Nigerian labour market.

Under the new directive, universities seeking to fill vacancies arising from retirement, resignation, death, dismissal or transfer are expected to identify such requests as staff attrition.

However, requests for additional personnel linked to new courses, academic programmes or institutional expansion must be supported by evidence of labour market demand, graduate employability and relevance to Nigeria’s human capital development priorities.

The institutions are also required to demonstrate that proposed programmes are sufficiently distinct from those already offered by other universities, rather than duplicating existing courses without clear justification.

The directive is intended to align university staffing decisions with national workforce requirements while ensuring that recruitment proposals are financially sustainable.

The Federal Government’s position places renewed emphasis on the relationship between higher education, graduate employment and the country’s economic development needs.

Universities are expected to comply with the requirements when submitting future manpower requests, with the minister urging vice-chancellors to ensure adherence to the directive.

The policy could influence how federal universities plan recruitment, introduce new academic programmes and justify requests for additional government-funded personnel.