Niger State Government has announced the suspension of the engagement of casual workers across Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs). The directive was contained in a circular dated 7th November 2025 from the Office of the Head of Service at the Abdulkareem Lafene Secretariat in Minna, signed by the Head of Service, Abubakar Sadiq Idris. The circular was addressed to the Chief of Staff, Deputy Chief of Staff, Secretary to the State Government, Clerk of the House, Permanent Secretaries, and Heads of Parastatals and Extra Ministerial Departments to ensure compliance.
According to the circular, “The Office of the Head of Service has noticed with great concern the barrage of applications for conversion of casual workers to permanent and pensionable staff by some Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) despite the ongoing recruitment exercise by the Civil Service Commission.”
It directed that “all MDAs are hereby directed to suspend the employment of casual workers with immediate effect.” It added that MDAs wishing to retain casual workers must pay them the minimum wage. For essential services including cleaners, security personnel, and drivers, the state instructed MDAs to outsource these roles rather than continue casual engagements. The move is aimed at ensuring proper recruitment standards and promoting efficient service delivery in the state civil service.
The circular reminded Heads of MDAs to adhere strictly to approved processes for filling vacancies in order to maintain transparency in public sector jobs and government employment procedures.
It further warned that failure to comply would attract sanctions, stating, “Any form of noncompliance by MDA and/or contravening the provision of this circular will leave this office with the option of invoking the provision of the Civil Service Rules on defaulters.”
